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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268265">Miscalculations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NocturnalPhoenix/pseuds/NocturnalPhoenix'>NocturnalPhoenix</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ace Lives, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Chef Killer, Engineer Kid, Explicit Language, F/M, Hint of m/m sex, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Injury, Killer and Kid are bros for life, M/M, Mentions of depression because Ace, Mild Blood, One Piece AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Takes place in Flevance, The Trafalgars are alive, ZoSan - Freeform, hint of M/F sex, surgeon law, very brief mention of Frobin because I'm a sucker for these two</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:15:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>27,905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NocturnalPhoenix/pseuds/NocturnalPhoenix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Law wanted nothing to do with relationships. </p><p>Kid... Well, Kid had one and a hundred things to say to that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eustass Kid &amp; Trafalgar D. Water Law, Eustass Kid/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco &amp; Portgas D. Ace, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace, Koala &amp; Sabo (One Piece), Koala/Sabo (One Piece), Monkey D. Luffy/Nami, Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>221</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. White City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am not the brilliant Eichiro Oda. I do not own any part of One Piece, he does. I'm just borrowing his vibrant characters that I adore for my fics.</p><p>Rating very likely to go up. Depending on how comfortable I am with writing certain scenes. ;)</p><p>Happy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>05:00</p><p> </p><p>Law reached out to stop the shrieking alarm clock on the nightstand. Despite going to bed at a decent hour last night, he still felt quite tired and groggy. He dragged his hand across his face, staying where he was a few moments longer, appreciating the quiet and mentally preparing himself for the day ahead before he pulled off his black sheets and rolled out of his bed.</p><p>He had developed his morning routine back in highschool. Despite the fact that he is now twenty-eight and definitely not in highschool anymore, it still worked perfectly for him: Wake up, quick shower, quick breakfast and coffee to go, leave food and water for Bepo, stroke Bepo’s head, get dressed, get everything else, say goodbye to Bepo, get out and lock up by 05:45.</p><p>Simple. <em>Efficient</em>.</p><p>It was still mostly dark and a bit chilly in the early morning hours. Some people were already on their way to work but for the most part, the streets of Flevance were quiet, especially this part of town. Law got into his car, connected his phone and barely even pulled out of the parking lot before it started ringing.</p><p>He glanced at the caller ID and promptly accepted their call, “Driving”.</p><p> </p><p>“Aaaand Good morning to you too, grumpy face!” Came the overly chipper reply over the phone, “I’m <em>so</em> fine! but you already know that!”</p><p> </p><p>“Again, driving.” Law, who most definitely did not have a smile tugging at his lips, sighed, “What do you want, Lami?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, since you oh so nicely asked,” he could almost hear her grin over the phone, “I want a mansion filled with baby puppies and a red car and a hot, beefy boyf—”</p><p> </p><p>“Lami!” He yelled as he hit the breaks to stop at a traffic light.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay!” She giggled, knowing she made him flustered. Classic law. “Just thought I’d check, are you coming home today?”</p><p> </p><p>It took him a second to remember what she was talking about. Today was Lami’s first day at work and they were planning to have a family dinner to celebrate it. “…shit.”</p><p> </p><p>“LAW!” he winced as she yelled at him, “Don’t tell me you forgot about today’s dinner! Mum took the day off to get everything ready and dad is very happy about it and he already invited everyone!”</p><p> </p><p>“Lami,” He ran his hand over his face, “There is an important list today and—”</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she cut him off, her voice desperate, “Please, Law? I really want you to be here. It won’t be the same without you.?”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed. Who was he kidding, he could never say no to Lami. “… I suppose I can ask Ping to—”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” She squealed, “You’re the best! I’ll tell mum and dad! Oh and by the way, Luffy has a girlfriend and he’s bringing her over, too!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, <em>Luffy</em> is coming too?”</p><p> </p><p>“See ya at six! Bye, Law!”</p><p>
  
</p><p>And that was it.</p><p>He supposed he could try to finish early today if he played his cards right at the hospital. He could always ask someone to take over from him. After all, he did have a lot of favors to check in andPing did say he wanted to get his hand going at some more CABGs…</p><p>He pulled over at the hospital staff park. He stayed in his car while he scrolled through his emails looking for this week’s rota to see if either Ping or Shachi are even in today.</p><p>Law had moved out of his parents house to be closer to his university as soon as he finished high school. Lami’s art school however, was closer to their house so she decided to stay. As much as he loved his family, Law needed his own space and it was much more convenient this way. They were still close and always kept in touch and met several times during the week if he was free, and Lami would often crash at his place ‘to change the scenery’ and ‘she misses Bepo’ but he knew it was because she misses him. He misses her too. And while he would never outwardly admit it, Lami was not only his sister, but also his best friend. He really loved it when they spent more time together. He loved that they <em>could</em>. He came too close to losing her and—</p><p>That was in the past and it is something he never wanted to think about ever again. Lami is here now, safe and healthy and happy.</p><p>He shook his head as if to physically expel the dark spiral his thoughts were about to take and got out of the car towards the massive main building of Flevance University Hospital.</p><p> </p><p>He was in his black scrubs and examining his first patient by 07:00.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Eustass Kid was <span class="u"><strong>not</strong></span> a morning person.</p><p> </p><p>He set his alarm to 06:00, 06:30, 06:45, 06:50 and 07:00 to actually wake up at seven in the morning. He blearily made his way to the bathroom, had a cold shower to wake him up half way and went into the kitchen in nothing but a towel around his waist to grab the freshly prepared coffee mug he knew was waiting to wake him up the rest of the way.</p><p>Only after taking his first ‘coffee hit’ does he acknowledge his (already dressed and halfway into his own breakfast) roommate with a wave with his mug.</p><p> </p><p>“Oi, Kill,” Eustass started, “Ever thought about opening your own coffee shop? Or getting married?”</p><p> </p><p>Unfazed, Killer simply let his middle finger respond for him as he dug into his bacon. Kid snorted and chugged down the rest of his coffee.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, I’ll get ready.” he said over his shoulder as he went to get dressed, “first one back from work makes dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>“Spoiler alert,” Killer drawled, “It’s you.”</p><p> </p><p>“The fuck it is!” came the indignant reply from the bedroom, “I made dinner yesterday! <em>And</em> the day before!”</p><p> </p><p>Killer took a deep breath, willing himself to hold on to what little sanity he had left, “I have a date.”</p><p> </p><p>“So?” Kid said as he zipped up his pants, “You can bring over dinner for me to eat AND an ass for you to—”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Killer interrupted, leaning on Kid’s bedroom door “I’m not bringing home ‘an ass’. I’m taking someone out on a <em>date</em>. ”</p><p> </p><p>Kid wolf-whistled as he buttoned up his shirt. “Who’s the lucky lady? or dude?” he turned to Killer,and couldn’t resist one more jab at the latter’s pansexuality, “is it a <em>zebra</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ha fucking ha.” came the dry reply, “Hilarious as always.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid snickered. He loved taking the piss at people in general, but Killer’s deadpan followups to his (admittedly weird and usually dirty) sense of humor was his favorite by far.</p><p>Him and Killer go ways back. Long story short, they were brought up in a shitty orphanage, in a shithole town because their shitty parents decided to dump them there when they were too little to flip them off for it. So they decided to come up with their own little family after they almost killed each other when they were seven. Fast forward all the nitty-gritty ugly details of the past almost-twenty years and here they were. They somehow managed to build themselves up from nothing and build their lives and careers from scratch. Killer a chef at a high-end restaurant in soho and Kid <em>owns</em> his own engineering company, rooming together in freaking Flevance, THE White City.</p><p> </p><p>“So?” Kid asked as he sprayed his cologne on his wrist and rubbed it over his neck, “Who are they?”</p><p> </p><p>“Someone from work.” The blond replied, “<em>She</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” Kidd glanced at his watch and realizing the very real possibility of running late, he grabbed his coat and left the room, knowing Killer will follow. “What’s with the puzzles?”</p><p> </p><p>“No puzzles.” Killer said as he grabbed the motorcycle keys and followed Kid to the front door. “Just too early.”</p><p> </p><p>Kidd turned to him, trying to read Killer’s face. “You’re serious about her?”</p><p> </p><p>“Still First date, Kid. We’ll see,” Killer said, a crooked smile on his face, “but yeah. Maybe.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid studied him for a few seconds longer as the other locked up their apartment and headed to the lift. Killer was actually a bout a year older than him but somehow looked younger. Kid thinks it’s because he smiles more. They were both quite heavily built, a result of years of fighting in their neighborhood when they were teens and later, hours spent at the nearest gym the second they could afford it.</p><p>While Eustass Kid was an attractive man in his own right, most people would find Killer more ‘handsome’, in his own rogue way. He had a strong jaw, a light stubble that was always kept in check and shaggy blond hair that was currently swept back in a neat, short ponytail, but would fall to his piercing blue eyes when he wasn’t working. He had a charming smile that he managed to keep through the years and freaking dimples and all. And right now, he had a hint of a bashful one that made him look even younger, brighter.</p><p> </p><p>“Yo, are you in love with this chick?”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s. Go.” Killer literally shoved the other out of the lift and towards the sleek black motorbike parked at their private slot, “Now. Unless you want to be late, again.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just saying dude,” Kid continued, his voice muffled by his red helmet. “if you’re serious about her, I wanna know!”</p><p>Killer strapped his blue and white striped helmet and straddled his bike, Kid hopped on it and held on to Killer’s waist.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry,” Killer said over his shoulder as he revved his motorbike, “if anything grows out of it, you’ll be the first to know.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you found any part of this enjoyable. Sorry it's a short chapter, I am certainly proud of how it turned out so far.</p><p>Please let me know what you think in the comments and stay safe!</p><p>CABG is Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: a cardiac operation where they basically bypass a bad coronary by using blood vessels from other locations.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Law glanced discreetly at the unassumingly plain, white clock on the far end of the immaculate OR. Well, <em>almost immaculate; </em>if not for the bloody, but sterile, field of Mr Capone’s open chest in front of him and the other significantly less bloody occupants of the room.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>He had started his round early today, found Peng and asked him to cover for him later this afternoon over coffee, wrapped up everything in a neat little bow so Peng wouldn’t actually have much to do and even prepared some of the following day’s work so he can be let off the hook easily enough.</p><p>He should have been home an hour and a half ago. It should have been <em>easy</em>. If not for <em>him</em>.</p><p>“Fufufufufufu”</p><p>His eyes snapped back to the knowing blues of the man seated on the other side of the table, directly opposite him. He was holding the tiny surgical needle in one hand, the end of the thread in the other and was crisscrossing several stitches in Mr Capone’s fatty coronaries.</p><p>While staring directly at Law.</p><p>Donquixote Doflamingo was hailed as the hospital’s best cardiothoracic surgeon and given FUH’s ranking as the top most prestigious university hospital in the world, that easily made him by proxy <em>the world’s</em> best cardiothoracic surgeon. He wrote thousands of papers for world-famous journals, published eleven best-seller books on surgery, organizes a yearly conference in the most extravagant hotel that sells out every single year as surgeons from all over the world make sure to attend and opened seven different charities to his name.</p><p>He was also Law’s direct supervisor and assigned mentor during his residency; so he gets to control Law’s schedule, education and projects. So when Law approached him today about leaving a bit earlier, he wanted nothing more than for Law to assist him in this four hour long operation that was scheduled in the afternoon. Well after Law’s shift was supposed to end.</p><p>In short: he was a legend, and in Law’s honest opinion, also a dick.</p><p>“Big Friday night plans , Law?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” <em>Not anymore, thanks to you.</em></p><p> </p><p><em>“</em>That’s the seventh time you check that clock,<em>” </em>The blond remarked, still looking at Law rather than the scalpel he was currently actively using a hair breadth away from a main artery. He could hear the nurse next to him weakly whimper. “Or am I boring you? Cut.”</p><p> </p><p>Law couldn’t see the grin he knew was under the obnoxious -and to Law, positively creepy- <em>pink </em>surgical face mask -the narcissist bastard had them custom made and specially delivered from the factory, always pink- but he saw how his eyes narrowed in sadistic glee as he held his gaze, could hear it in his voice.</p><p>
  <em>Fucker was mocking him. And he kept him here on purpose.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine.” Law said in the most neutral voice he could manage as he cut the surgical thread Doflamingo was holding out for him.</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” The senior surgeon said as he abruptly stood up, “Since you have nothing better to do, you can wrap up.”</p><p> </p><p>Law counted down from fifty and tried to focus on the beeping of the monitors around him as his carefully schooled grey eyes followed the much taller man. Doflamingo snapped his gloves off and chucked them at the trash in the corner, followed by his mask and apron as the other occupants of the room murmured a fascinated “good job” as always, besides Law who picked up another needle and willed his frustration down to start working so he could get out of here soon.</p><p>He<em> promised</em> Lami.</p><p>Doflamingo turned back to law and basically towered over him, staring over his shoulder and studying his handiwork as the younger man dexterously stitched away at layers of bones and flesh, seemingly unperturbed by the other hulking over him.</p><p>Several minutes passed before the blond giant hummed, seemingly satisfied, clapped Law on his <em>sterile </em>garments, before walking away, waving over his shoulder and wishing everyone a good night and disappearing through the double doors.</p><p>By the time Law finished stitching up the fifty year old man’s (Mr Capone’s) chest back together, made sure he is good and stable back in intensive care, took a shower and changed back into his clothes, it was almost nine. He unlocked his phone only to wince at the sheer number of messages and missed calls left by Lami, both his parents and his cousins.</p><p>He grabbed his yellow coat and slipped one arm into it as he dialed Lami’s number with the other on his way to his car.</p><p>He had to hold the phone away from his face the second his sister picked up. He could still hear everything she said and all the insults she threw at him.</p><p>“I’m sorry. Problems at w—”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re <em>still </em>at work?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Just got off,” he connected his phone before he pulled out of the parking slot, “I’m on my way.”</p><p> </p><p>“You promised!” she yelled, “everyone waited for you until they couldn’t! I made you your favorite onigiri too!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he responded, keeping his tired eyes not he road, “Sorry Lami. Had to assist in another operation.”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought Pigeon was covering for you?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Penguin.</em>” he corrected, “and he did. Doffy wanted me to assist him again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever.” He could hear the exasperation in her voice and he made a mental note to drop by the fancy supermarket near their parent’s house, “Can you just get here soon before Luffy demolishes what’s left for you?”</p><p> </p><p>Law smiled at the mention of his cousin. It has been months since he last saw Luffy and he was looking forward to it. He used to be pretty close to Luffy in school, since they went to the same one and had most of their classes in common. Back then Luffy, along with his two siblings, practically lived at Law’s place whenever their parents left for business —which was most of the time. Until Law decided to move for collage and Luffy decided it wasn’t really his thing. They managed to stay in touch for a while, but couldn’t see each other as often as they would have liked.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be there,” he promised, “fend him off a little bit longer, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well you’d better be here soon before— Luffy, <em>NO!</em>”</p><p> </p><p>She hung up, likely to save whatever food is left from Luffy’s infinite gluttony. Law couldn’t help but smile a little wider as he drove just a little bit faster.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Kid dumped his keys into the small tray they kept by the door as he entered his apartment, already shrugging off his coat before he closed the door. He almost called for Killer before he remembered the other wasn’t there.</p><p>He changed into an old shirt and sweatpants, pulled his hair back and away from his face before he started making dinner. After he was done with his homemade ramen, he cleaned up and took out a bottle of beer from the fridge before he headed to the couch, trying to find a movie or something that wouldn’t need too many braincells to watch. He had a pretty hectic week and he just wanted to chill a little after being busy at work.</p><p>He must have dozed off at some point, because he woke up to the click of Killer’s keys.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” he yawned from his lounging position on their red (and very cozy) couch, “How did it go?”</p><p> </p><p>“Amazing,” Came the quiet reply from the foyer, where Killer was taking off his shoes.</p><p> </p><p>“Good for you,”the redhead snorted, rubbing his eyes with his palms, “at least you got laid. I haven’t had any action in ages.”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to watch Killer who threw himself on the chair at the other end of the couch and grinned at Kid, “I didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid blinked at him, “Didn’t what?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>‘Get laid’</em>” the blond’s grin widened, “We just had dinner, walked around town and talked.”</p><p> </p><p>“… just talked.” Kid blinked slowly at the other, “’for eight hours. Right.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know what to tell you. She’s… <em>different.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh,”Maybe it was because he just woke up and had cotton balls in his head, but Kid wasn’t following. Apparently Killer took it as his cue to keep talking.</p><p> </p><p>“She has a savage sense of humor,” He leaned forward, “And brains. And charm. And <em>character. </em>She’s also fucking gorgeous.”</p><p> </p><p>This was new. Kid knew his friend liked to take his partners on dates or dinner or to see a movie, know them a little before he took them to a room somewhere, but it was always leading up to sex. Nothing more or less. They had both reached the same realization years ago, that things like love and romance just weren’t for them. It kept things simple. <em>Detached</em>.</p><p>But right now, Killer was grinning and his eyes were dancing like a kid who just got a puppy for Christmas as he <em>gushed</em> about his date.</p><p> </p><p><em>This is weird</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I’m going to see her again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Bonney,” The older of the two repeated, “I said I’m seeing her again.”</p><p> </p><p>Again, <em>weird</em>. Killer didn’t see the same person twice, unless they were<em> really</em> good. At sex, that is.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait. Bonney?” Kid repeated, that name sounded familiar, “That chick that almost cut a dude’s balls when he tried to cop a feel?”</p><p> </p><p>Killer’s grin was borderline maniac, “The very one.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid had to admit he was kind of impressed when Killer told him about that particular incident, months ago despite never meeting the woman in question. Granted, he laughed his ass off and found it hilarious at the time, but still. He liked strong, gutsy women.</p><p>
  <em>Well, as much as any gay man 'liked' women, anyway.</em>
</p><p>“Well, hide your family jewels.” the redhead yawned, “And I think I’m calling it a night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, same.” Killer stood, heading to his room before he turned back to Kid who was already slipping back into the couch, under the blanket they kept there specifically for times like this. His smile softened, morphing into something much gentler and nostalgic.</p><p> </p><p>“Good night, Kid.”</p><p> </p><p>“mmmnight” murmured the other, already drifting off.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Everything will be okay.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaaaaand second chapter is up. A little bit longer this time. </p><p>Next chapter we will get to meet Law's Family. Soon, will delve into the actual story and these two would finally (hopefully) meet.</p><p>Let know if you liked it, any and all constructive comments are welcome. </p><p>Thank you for reading, and remember to stay safe.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dinner with Law's Family.</p><p>Sorry guys. Your favorite redhead is not in this one, but he'll be coming back with vengeance in the next.</p><p>Happy reading! Hope you like this one (and my OTPs) ;)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Law parked his car not far away from his parents’ house. He jogged to the nearby store and bought a wine bottle and a box of chocolates and snacks for everyone. He made sure to buy Lami’s favorite giant swirly lollipops. She may be a legal adult and literally celebrating her first full-time job today, but she would always be his baby little sister. </p><p>Also, it goes a long way to mollify her at times like these. Desperate measures.</p><p>Before he even knocked on the double mahogany doors, they swung open to reveal a very pissed off Lami. He held the giant orange lollipop right to her face as a peace offering, she glanced at it only to glare at him again and crossing her arms over her black and pink frilly dress.</p><p>Maybe next time he should go for watermelon…</p><p>“Law, what time did we agree on?”</p><p>“Eight. But it wasn’t my—”</p><p>“Eight. And what time is it now?”</p><p>He quirked a skeptical eyebrow, “Nine thirty, ma’am.”</p><p>That seemed to make her even angrier, but before she could start a tantrum (yes, she still had them even now) a slim hand appeared on her shoulder. “Now, now Lami. Maybe we should let him inside first and chomp his head off later?”</p><p>“But mum—”</p><p>“Hi, Mum.” Law smiled back at his mother as she took him in a one-armed hug. He kissed her on each cheek, wincing a little when Lami stomped on his foot as he passed her by. She smiled innocently when their mother glanced at her in admonishment. </p><p>Freya has always been the epitome of grace, beauty and elegance to her two children. She has grey eyes like Law and honey brown hair flowing down her back, like Lami and always looked much younger than her actual age. Tonight, she wore a simple red dress with very light make up and only her wedding ring and a necklace Lami and Law bought her for her birthday two years ago. Despite being a very successful pediatrician, she knew how to take good care of her home, her family and herself. Law had no idea how she singlehandedly did it all these years.</p><p>She took the bottle of wine and chocolates from him with quick thanks and another kiss. He turned to his sister and again offered the lollipop to her. She gave him one last glare before snatching it from him and pulling him into a hug. “I missed you, froggy.”</p><p>“Me too, Lam.” He smiled at his old nickname, not that she would see it. </p><p>From behind, he heard rapid footsteps running from the dining room and barely had time to disentangle himself from Lami only to have their owner barrel into his back in a hug and sending both of them into the floor. </p><p>“Traffy~!! Long time no see! We have to catch up and I have SO much to tell you!”</p><p>“Get. Off. Me. Now.”</p><p>“Shishishishishi!”</p><p>Law growled as he was trying to squirm his way from underneath Luffy’s iron grip, while Lami laughed at them both. The bastard was short and looked scrawny but he packed some muscle power on him. It’s why he was captain of his own division in Flevance’s fire brigade, after all. </p><p>For the second time this night someone came to Law’s rescue. This time, strong arms bodily picked up Luffy away from him and he quickly got off the floor, leveling a laughing Luffy with an exasperated look. He nodded at his other cousin who was currently trying to keep Luffy in a headlock. “Thanks Ace.”</p><p>The dark haired man grinned at him “My pleasure! It’s been a while, Law.”</p><p>He nodded. Luffy managed to wriggle out of his grip, so he went to fist bump Law. Freya came back into the foyer, ushering them all into the dining room ahead of her, where everyone was waiting for late desserts— and in Law’s case, actual food.</p><p>What counted as a ‘small family dinner’, wasn’t really that small. On the large dining table Law could see his father, Daniel, at the head talking animatedly to the eldest Monkey brother, Sabo. Next to him sat his fiancée, Koala, who was animatedly talking to a redhead girl he didn’t know but assumed was Luffy’s new girlfriend. Huh. Must take a very special kind of person to date Luffy.</p><p>The seat next to her was empty, presumably where the youngest of the three brothers sat. On the other side of Daniel were three empty seats where his wife and children would sit. Then there was Marco, Ace’s husband of two years and next to him was another empty seat where ace would sit, currently occupied by Inuarashi, their six-year old St Bernard, who was gratefully nibbling on small pork cutlets from a smiling Marco. </p><p>Law went first to his father, who gleefully stood and pulled him into another hug. He was only two months older than Freya. Where Lami looked like a younger version of her mother, Law looked just like his father minus the square glasses and while Law liked to keep a small stubble, his father was clean shaven. His sister and mother would poke fun of their similarities sometimes, especially now that Law is also a junior surgeon in training. Law would seethe and bristle at it, but they all knew it made him happy. His father has always been his role model and his best friend. </p><p>He then made a round of high-fives and handshakes. Luffy introduced the redhead as his girlfriend of two months now, Nami. She works as an editor for the lifestyle and travel column in the Koko! magazine and part-time model. They had met when Luffy saved her one night from a group of local thugs that ganged up on her as she was going home from a late night out. She took his number to thank him with a small gift, he invited her for lunch and that was their first date. </p><p>Law ate his dinner as he listened to them telling their story, Nami occasionally whacking him for saying something stupid. Law decided he liked her much better than Luffy’s ex—she had character and she was smart and funny and seemed to be generally good for Luffy.  </p><p>He also knew she wouldn’t be here if his two brothers did not like her enough; and if those two hard-asses (when it came to Luffy) where okay with her, then so was he.</p><p>Luffy, Ace and Sabo where the children of Monkey D Dragon, his uncle. Also, a prominent ambassador of Flevance. Their mother, Rouge, died when they were very little and Luffy was more or less brought up by his brothers and Law’s parents since his dad was almost never there. The three of them are very close, but very different in character and mannerisms. </p><p>Sabo is the oldest. He is the most mature and the calmest of the three but still easygoing. He had to take most of the responsibility for his two brothers when their father was away and Law thinks it made him grow up faster, somehow. He later went into politics and has secured a very good position in the embassy, with none of that credit going to Dragon and all of it belonging to Sabo’s hard work. That’s where he met Koala, who works as an interpreter. They quickly hit it off and moved on together. It was not long before they were inseparable and Sabo proposed to her. Their wedding is in six months.</p><p>Luffy is the youngest and the closest to Law. He never saw much of his parents, but his brothers more than made up for their absence and Law’s parents took care of the rest. <br/>
On the surface, Luffy appeared to be this whirlwind of goofiness and laughter and carefree energy that people often mistook his happy-go-lucky attitude for stupidity and carelessness. Anyone who actually knew Luffy, knew better. </p><p>He was one of the smartest people Law knew and is very sharp with a -usually- good hunch of what to do if he is ever stuck. That said, unlike Law, his true talents lay with people, not books. That’s how he made friends wherever he went, made connections with half the city and basically charmed the socks off of everyone he meets, including cynics like Law. It’s also how he helped keep this entire family afloat when tragedies struck them along the years and Law thanked the heavens for it.</p><p>Ace is the middle brother. His mother’s passing hit him the hardest as he was closest to her. He became more volatile and violent and while Sabo tried his best to calm him down, he was still a kid and there was only so much a kid could do. Law’s parents tried their best and managed to contain the worst of it, especially because Freya was close to Rouge. Ace, however, was diagnosed with depression and suffered from insomnia from an early age and the only one who could reach him was Luffy. It was a very dark time for everyone as Law’s parents were dealing with problems of their own but they managed to keep it all together and come out closer in the end, somehow.</p><p>Law did not believe in God or miracles, but if there was one thing that would tip him into it all it would be this: In the darkest time for Ace, when he was rapidly spiraling beyond control, he found Whitebeard. He met the retired Fire fighter at the gym he went to to release all his pent up energy. Whitebeard took a liking to him, helped him train and one day took him for a tour at the Fire brigade where he worked. Ace found his purpose there and more importantly, Marco. </p><p>No one really understood what happened between the two or how, but one day it was like Ace had come back to life and they had Marco to thank for it. The blond was good for him, accepted him wholly and patched him up in a way no one else could have. They have been happily married for two years now and Ace is never seen without a shit-eating grin on his face.</p><p>Hallelujah.</p><p>Now that he was sat at the dinner table, chomping on his mother’s (and Lami’s) onigiri, it hit him how much he missed his family. All of them. Work has kept him away from them for a while now and a part of him regretted it. </p><p>He was lost in his thoughts that he hasn’t registered his father the first two times he asked him a question. “Huh?”</p><p>“Wow. Doffy really kept his promise, didn’t he?” His father asked with a knowing smirk on his face. Law scowled. </p><p>The older Donquixote brother was an old friend of his father’s since collage. They both went into surgical training but while Doflamingo made it into Cardiothoracic surgery, Daniel had a thing for Neurosurgery and they parted ways after graduation, becoming pioneers at their own field. They still kept in touch, much to Law’s dismay. </p><p>The Pink Demon was by far, Law’s least favorite person on the planet. He would begrudgingly admit the man was a masterful artist at his craft and had raw talent for it, but he was a sadistic megalomaniac asshat and always made Law slightly uncomfortable. Once he knew Law was going into his hospital for training, he immediately pounced on the opportunity to work him to the bone and point out every single little mistake he ever did and Law resented him for it. His father wasn’t too worried, though. </p><p>“Yeah. Wouldn’t let me leave until his patient was tucked into ICU.”</p><p>“Ah. He’s always been anal about his patients. You probably think it’s pointless but it’s really good practice to follow up on your patients after any procedure. You’ll see soon enough.” Law resisted the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation. Externally, anyway.</p><p>“Lami, why don’t you tell us more about your first day, sweetie?” Freya asked as she was cutting up the strawberry cake with ‘Congratulations, Lami!’ in squiggly bright red on the front and handing out pieces to everyone. Law and Daniel knew it for the gentle reprimand it is to include his sister, who was talking animatedly to Nami and Koala, bringing the focus back to her.</p><p>“It was awesome!” She started animatedly telling them all about her first day at Water 7 Interior Designs. She told them about her own office and how she planned to decorate it, about her boss, Franky, who was ‘a very cool dude’ and a brilliant interior designer, but was blind when it came to fashion, making everyone laugh at the mental image of a CEO in his mid-thirties in red and yellow Hawaiian shirt. She gushed over his wife and co-founder who is incredibly smart and stylish and specializes in gothic architecture.</p><p>“Sounds like a perfect first day. I’m so proud of you, little lamb.” Her father said. “I know you’ll do great.” She beamed at her dad and went to kiss him on his cheek. </p><p>They wrapped up dinner and helped Freya clean, despite her constant objection that they are guests. They then grabbed all the bottles of booze in the fridge and all the snacks and chocolate they had around the house and went to the living room. Freya and Daniel shared the love seat, everyone found somewhere to sit on the spacious couch and chairs and Law preferred to take the floor, with Lami leaning against his side and Inuarashi enjoying a head massage from her, resting his head on her lap.</p><p>They spent the rest of the night having light conversation, catching up on everyone’s life and laughing all along. Sometime around midnight, Law’s parents excused themselves and retired to their bedroom. The younger adults, after some insistence from The Trafalgars, decided to stay the night and would sleep in the three guest rooms they had prepared for them. They stayed up well into the early hours of the morning, talking about anything and everything from sports to politics to everyone’s life updates and finally to Sabo and Koala’s (much anticipated) wedding.</p><p>“So Law, now that Luffy has such an amazing lady,” he winked at Nami, raising his beer bottle at her to which she raised her own, “ Friendly reminder you’re the only single dude left, which means we’ll have to harass you about it but also,” he paused for dramatic effect, making Law scowl deeper, “pester you into magically acquiring a plus one.”</p><p>Law gave him a flat stare. “I’m fine thanks.”</p><p>“That you are,” Ace winked good-naturedly, making Marco beside him chuckle “But you still have a plus one, anyway. Why waste it?”</p><p>“Because a. I don’t have one and b. I don’t have time to have one. I’ll just take this one here.” he gave Lami a squeeze and she giggled.</p><p>“Sure. Because they’re not inviting her and you’ll have to smuggle her in.”</p><p>“Ace, he doesn’t have to bring anyone if he doesn’t want to.” Koala admonished, then turned to Law, “Seriously though, we won’t let you in without an extra. No pressure.”</p><p>“It’s in six months, you two. He’s got time to find a date.”</p><p>“We’ll see.” Law said, taking another sip of his wine. In truth, he wasn’t really planning on it at all. Law has had a small handful of partners throughout the years, mostly men. He never dated them and he never kept them around long enough to get attached. He just never understood the appeal of it. </p><p>It wasn’t that he did not believe in love—his family took care of that quite well, thank you. He has just never felt it with anyone before and didn’t feel the need to be with someone. He was currently 100% focused on his work and trying to learn more at the hospital. What was left of his time he would use to relax at home, do side projects or spend time with his family.</p><p>It was all he needed. He just didn’t have the time or the energy for relationships and did not think that was likely to change anytime soon.</p><p>And that was okay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please let me know how that went. I had nothing to go on in terms of character for Lami, other than the very brief interaction in the Flevance flashback. And sorry for what I did to Ace there.</p><p>Also, friendly reminder that I don't have a beta, so I do my proofreading really. If you do find any inconsistencies or errors, do point them out. Thanks!</p><p>Happy reading, and stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Third Wheel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I tried very hard to figure out what nationalities are like in OP world which was quite interesting.</p><p>Also, I'm sorry.</p><p>Happy reading &gt;:)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Baratie was a very unique restaurant. The owner, Zeff Redleg, was a retired Marine Captain who travelled far and wide all over the world on missions. When he lost a leg in the line of duty, he received an honorable discharge and immediately decided to follow his passion and open a small restaurant with his pension and life-savings.</p><p>What started out as a small hole-in-the-wall family business with just him and his two nephews, rapidly grew into a sensational, classy, international four-star tourist attraction that served different cuisines from all over the world. </p><p>Zeff had six chefs in total, each specializing in a different cuisine. Both his nephews, Patty and Carne, made the best local Flevench food in town, since they never left the city. Sanji, Baratie’s sous chef, was really a jack-of-all-trades but was best with Marijoan, Sabaodi and German foods, where he was born and raised. Cavendish hailed from a Dressrosan family that moved to Flevance years ago and his mother taught him and his four sisters how to cook all their traditional meals from a young age and he, in turn, brought that art to the Baratie. Bonney’s father was a soldier stationed in Alabasta for most of his life and she lived there with him for a while, where she grew fond of the hearty, aromatic and spicy Alabastan food and learned how to perfect it. Finally, there was Killer who, like Sanji, went into culinary school. He found himself in love with Wannese cuisine and even went off to Wano for a month with Kid once they graduated to celebrate. Sometimes, if he in a good mood, he would put on a show for their customers as he deftly cut up slabs of fish into paper-thin sushi art.</p><p>Every day, Zeff would go to his restaurant at exactly six thirty in the morning and hang a sign by the door that stated which cuisine was on for today depending on which of his chefs were working that day. Whomever is working that day would work a full shift, usually with Zeff himself or one of his nephews so they always had Flevench and at least one more cuisine everyday. Today Zeff hung “Alabastan” and “Wannese” near Baratie’s double doors and left the doors open as he went in to start his day.</p><p>Killer was always on time. It was one of many things he admired about the younger man. Since he was <em>acutely</em> aware he and Bonney were dating -an unfortunate incident involving him walking in on them in the coat room and the subsequent ban of the presence of more than <b>one</b> person in said room at all times- he knew she would be there on time.</p><p>Zeff kneaded the croissant dough with more viciousness than was strictly necessary as his face flared red at the memory.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fuckin’ horny kids…</em>
</p><p>*** </p><p>When Killer said he ‘likes’ Bonney, Kid had assumed it was just a first date infatuation and would disappear as quickly as it started. When he kept seeing her for a whole month afterwards, he thought she must have been pretty good in bed. Not that Kill would ever tell him anything about their sex life whenever he pestered him about it, except for either a middle finger which Kid didn’t mind much, or a dopey grin that creeped the hell out of him.</p><p>He would grudgingly admit he did not hate Bonney as much as he thought he would. The moment Killer introduced them, she told him his hair was cool and he said he liked her piercings, which he did. Then they talked about music and how she loved symphonic metal but hated death metal and how he doesn’t really care for it but was more of a hard rock guy. Killer then took them to this tiny burger joint and Kid expected her to be a princess about it given her size two clothes but she gulped down her XXL sandwich, fries and beer like a champ then told him about her kickboxing classes and how she was saving up to get a motorbike.</p><p>Okay, so she was pretty fucking cool for a girl. He understood where Killer was coming from and he liked how she made him light up like a fucking Christmas tree, as weird as it was. Many outings, banters, phone conversations and sleepovers later, Kid reluctantly had to upgrade Bonney from ‘barely tolerable’ to ‘friend’.</p><p>Five months after that first date Killer invited him over to Baratie for a late dinner, his treat. Now, Kid could be deliberately obtuse at times, but he was not stupid. He knew an olive branch for what it was and dreaded what he knew was coming. Killer brought him his favorite spicy noodles and booze and waited until Kid’s mouth was too busy with his food to scowl or curse at him before he told him that he was moving in with Bonney, but wouldn’t do it until Kid gives him the green light. Kid stared at him, knowing the other would not have even thought about it unless he was absolutely sure this is what he wanted with someone who deserved it. He then demanded they meet up<em> at least</em> every other day and stated that they owe him food. When Killer readily agreed, a bit floored by the other’s newfound maturity but not willing to question it, Kid shrugged and said ‘sure’.</p><p>It helped that Bonney had called him <em>before</em> she asked Kill to move in and took the ‘break-his-heart-and-you’ll-regret-having-one’ speech in stride, along with his reluctant blessing. Smart move. <em>Not that Kill needed to know.</em></p><p>That was three weeks ago and the two chefs were making good on their promise so far. Kid did not even try to stifle a yawn as he locked up his car and walked into the restaurant at half ten. He nodded at the security guard/doorman/bouncer, noting the ‘Today in Baratie!’ sign by the door.</p><p>He needed his morning coffee and he needed it <em>now</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“‘Sup, spike. Rough night?”</p><p> </p><p>His only response was another yawn, this one he tried to hide behind his hand that conveniently had an extended middle finger. The pink-haired chef snickered.</p><p>He stared at the Alabastan menu for a second, trying to remember what was what before he replied sluggishly “Spicy falafel, coffee and Killer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Had that last one for dinner myself. Not too bad, but could do with a bit of spice, if ya know what I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>He groaned. “Killer! Your girlfriend’s being weird again.” he yelled at the general direction of the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>“Kids, play nice.” the blond drawled as he entered the main dining area, wiping his hand with a clean towel.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, don’t dish it if you can’t handle it.” She turned around to give him a quick smooch, ignoring the gagging redhead behind her, “You start your first break. I’ll get breakfast.”</p><p> </p><p>Killer nodded as he sat down opposite his longtime friend, snatching his phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey! I almost won!”</p><p> </p><p>“We need to talk about Christmas.” The blond stated as he put the other’s phone away.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Killer let out a long sigh, “Today is November 26th. Next month, that’s four weeks from now, is Christmas day. Bonney was thinking—“</p><p> </p><p>“Dangerous move.”</p><p> </p><p>He gave the redhead a pointed look, “— that we should do something different. Like a getaway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Kid said, quieter than usual. They didn’t really care for the holiday since it always meant little to them, but they always spent it together. Like a family.</p><p> </p><p>Before he could answer, Bonney came over with a loaded tray that Kid would have wiped clean in minutes had he not lost his appetite a second ago. “Did you tell him about it?” She asked as she put down the steaming falafel in front of Kid. Her boyfriend nodded as he stood up and took the coffee pot from her to pour for all three of them.</p><p> </p><p>“So? What do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>It took Kid a second to realize she was talking to him and he scowled at her “Me? What do I care where you go for a stupid holiday?”</p><p> </p><p>She blinked at him, then at Killer who rolled his eyes at him and gestured around the table with his coffee pot, “‘We’, Kid. All three of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Kid wasn’t… expecting that. He thought these two would be thinking of some romantic getaway for their first Christmas together. A part of him would always want Killer for himself because that’s the way it has always been. That part was quite jealous of Bonney and was still half expecting them to break up, even if he wished nothing but happiness for the blond. To think it was actually her idea to bring him along, he wasn’t sure what to say. So he went with the first thing that occurred to him, rather than <em>feelings.</em></p><p> </p><p>“… like a threesome?” He received a well-deserved swat on the head from Killer.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s disgusting, disturbing and not even remotely hot,” drawled Bonney, who was well over the engineer’s antiques by now, “But anyways, you in or you out?”</p><p>Kid looked at her, then at Killer then back again. He dug into his spicy falafel and coffee before he broke into a wide grin.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me more.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Kid decided that today was a damn good day.</p><p>They had talked about their Christmas getaway plans over -free- delicious breakfast before the two lovebirds had to go back to work. They promised to meet up the next day to make some serious plans and reservations and what not. Kid then went to the gym where he had a nice four-hour session that left him with a good buzz and dripping sweat. He went back home, had a quick shower and fixed himself whatever was left over in the fridge that would make for a quick dinner.</p><p>He then decided to have a quiet night and settled with his laptop on the couch to try and do some research for the next phase of one of his projects, a cup of tea next to him and turned on his stereo system for some background noise while he worked away. He found that living alone was not too bad. Not that Kill was a bad roommate but there was something to be said about having the whole place to himself to do whatever the hell he liked.</p><p>He stayed up quite late and was ready to call it a night when his phone rang. He wondered who would call him at this hour as he checked the caller ID but it was an unknown number. <em>Weird. </em>He picked it up. A nasal, professional voice answered on the other end.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello? Is this Mr… Kid?”</p><p> </p><p>“Speaking. Who’s this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening. My name is Aaron Wenzel. I’m one of the ED nurses in Flevance Hospital.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid started to have a really bad feeling about this. He stayed quiet as he listened to the other.</p><p> </p><p>“I apologize for calling at this hour, but you’re listed here as the emergency contact for Mr Killer Fabian. May I confirm your relationship to him, please?”</p><p> </p><p>“Brother.” He breathed, barely hearing anything over the sound of his own pulse pounding in his ears, “What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, sir. There seems to have been an accident on the motorway,” the man continued, seemingly oblivious to Kid’s heavy breathing on the other end, “A passerby found your brother and another passenger near an upturned motorcycle by the road and called an ambulance. They’re both in ED Majors now and may soon be transferred to surgery.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid found getting up and breathing simultaneously to be extremely difficult tasks at the moment as he shakily pushed himself off the couch and went to grab his coat and keys. “Are they okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“…I’m afraid it’s too early to say.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck </em>“I’m on my way. Did you say ED?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, sir. I’m sorry to—”</p><p> </p><p>Kid hung up. He grabbed his keys and as he opened the front door his eyes fell on the bright red helmet glinting on the stand nearby. Kill had insisted he kept his helmet when he moved out. Being the fucking gentleman he was, Kid knew he must have given Bonney his while he drove.</p><p>He swore under his breath as he took the stairs four at a time. He didn’t trust himself with driving in his current state and ran to stop a taxi the second he saw one. He barked their destination at the driver and tried to call Killer, hoping it was some weird prank that he knew the other would never even think of. No answer.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hang in there, Kill.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaaand we're picking up speed and a hint of a higher rating. This was fun to write. </p><p>Killer's last name is actually his VA's last name: Leo Fabian. </p><p>Please let me know how you found this chapter. Please leave a comment if you found any inconsistencies or any errors anywhere since I don't have a beta or just to let me know how it went.</p><p>As always, stay safe.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Little Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this at 0300 am... I'm still happy with how it turned out though.</p><p>I really like writing this little fic... I only hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The motorway was mostly empty as he drove through the cold November night. Which was good, he supposed, because Law was <em>tired</em>.</p><p>He focused on the road ahead and shot a quick glance at the clock in his car. He cursed under his breath as it was almost eleven already.</p><p>
  <em>He should have been home three hours ago, for fuck’s sake.</em>
</p><p>As a northern country, winter was usually pretty busy for Flevance. Tourists would visit all year long, but particularly in winter to enjoy skiing at the mountain range just outside the city. More people meant more accidents, especially now when it is slippery and freezing. Which was how Law ended up with operating on five out of sixteen people who were involved in a road traffic accident that rocked up exactly an hour before his shift should have ended.</p><p>He was not supposed to be operating on them, anyway. He was supposed to be assisting with cardiothoracic surgeries before he moved on to his vascular rotation next month, which is pretty laidback and well staffed, just in time for the upcoming holidays.</p><p>Thanks to the fucking pink asshole, he was now going to spend the next month -including Christmas and New Year’s- in emergencies. All because of <b>one </b>mistake.</p><p>Two weeks ago, he had been the first assistant in Doflamingo’s operation again, a particularly complex transplant operation this time for a young girl. She had a lot going on and it was very messy, lasted eight whole hours and was eventually successful and their patient was sent into ICU.</p><p>Doffy wasn’t his usual obnoxious self after a successful major operation though, which should have clued Law at the time, had he not been dead on his feet. He ordered a CT just to be safe and told Law to check the report before he left. Law had been exhausted and was pretty sure his senior had a massive case of OCD so he simply handed it over for the night team to chase before he too, left.</p><p>Except they didn’t check it because they had back-to-back emergencies all night that kept them from doing anything else. So the first person to see the report and discover the massive effusion around the transplanted lung was in fact Doflamingo, when he came in the next morning.</p><p>He wasn’t pleased. In fact, by his standards he was downright pissed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I told you to check her post-op CT.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“But—”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“You haven’t. So now that little lady is literally drowning in her own blood and I had to cancel another surgery to deal with it, all because it was past your bedtime and you couldn’t wait to leave.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I handed—”</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>“—it over to the night team. But I didn’t tell you to hand it over, </em>doctor Trafalgar<em>. I told </em><b><em>you</em></b><em> to check the CT.”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“…It won’t happen again.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Oh, it won’t. I know because I’m changing your rota from next week.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“…Excuse me?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I am changing your rota. Starting next week, you’ll be on call for ED majors for a month.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“But—”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Two months it is. Would you like a third?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He had had to sit in his car and breathe for an hour after that incident or he was pretty sure he was going to drive off a cliff. Or punch the other and get his license revoked.</p><p>He gritted his teeth as he tried not to channel his anger into the accelerator as a massive truck whizzed by him on the road. Now that his initial anger and lashing out had settled, he was able to see things clearly.</p><p>Because as much as he hated the tyrant asshole, he<em> was</em> a brilliant surgeon. And if law put his own conspiracy theories about Donquixote having it for him since day one because of some old rivalry with his dad aside, he knew the senior surgeon was right.</p><p>Law did deserve this punishment.</p><p>He was too lost in his rumination that he almost didn’t see the turned over bike and the two bodies next to it. He swerved to the right and parked his car by the roadside, grabbing his small bag before getting out and rapidly assessing the scene in front of him as he reached into his pocket and dialed the emergency number.</p><p>
  <em>Male, middle age, bleeding, no helmet. RTA. Critical.</em>
  <em>Female, young, broken arm, helmet on. RTA. Critical.</em>
</p><p>He crouched next to the man first, holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he put the gloves he extracted from his bag on. He pressed into where he knew the pulse was strongest and let out a relieved breath as he felt it.<em> Thready, but there.</em></p><p>He rapidly examined the two as he rattled off his details, location and findings to the emergency operators. RTA victims, both alive and unconscious. The woman didn’t seem to be bleeding much aside from skin scrapes. There was no way to tell if she was internally bleeding, but that left arm definitely looked broken.</p><p>Law stayed with the man who was in a critical condition, to say the least. His face was almost unrecognizable, covered in blood from his head wound. Law winced as he felt the boggy swelling under his gloved hand as he tried to stop the bleeding.</p><p>
  <em>Thank heavens for spare sterile gauze and gloves he never both</em>
  <em>ered to take out of his bag.</em>
</p><p>Just as his legs were getting numb from kneeling on the floor, he heard the ambulance approaching from FUH direction. He let out a tired sigh.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Looks like I’m not going home today.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p>Kid was out of the taxi the second it slowed down, before it even stopped. He threw a 20B note at the driver before he threw himself at the entrance.</p><p>He tried to ignore his heart thumping in his throat and the hateful, overpowering antiseptic smell as he tried to figure out where to go. He found the reception area and ran towards it, almost knocking over an old man in a cast on his way.</p><p>
  <em>He really hates hospitals.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I’m looking for Killer Fabian.”</p><p> </p><p>“…Pardon?” said the puzzled receptionist.</p><p> </p><p>“I am looking for Killer. Fabian.” Kid repeated, much slower this time,“Can you tell me where he is?”</p><p> </p><p>“Right. Why don’t we start over from the beginning—”</p><p> </p><p>Kid was about to punch something. “Look, my friend just had a fucking accident and I need to see him<em> now.</em>“</p><p>“I understand you’re upset, but you need to <em>calm down</em>, so I can actually help you,” the young man behind the desk fixed him with a look, as he pointed to the notice stuck to the wall behind him that read ‘Abuse will NOT be tolerated’, “and no need to curse.”</p><p> </p><p>The redhead sucked in a deep breath and pinched his nose irritably before they throw him out. “… My name is Eustass Kid. I am looking for my friend, Killer. I got a call from a nurse about twenty minutes ago telling me there has been an accident and he is in your emergency department.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you. Let’s see,” the pink-haired young man, ‘Koby’ as his bright yellow name tag read, started typing away at his computer. “Fabian, was it?” He nodded. “He’s moved from ED, but they should be able to tell you more. Just go through the door behind you into the waiting area and someone will attend to you shortly.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid bolted to where Koby pointed. He then went up to the first nurse he saw and asked them where Killer was, then asked for Wenzel when they had no idea. He was then told to wait until they called the other nurse. Kid walked up and down the waiting area seven times and was halfway on his eighth before he heard his name.</p><p> </p><p>”Mr Kid,” He turned to find a young-looking male nurse in blue scrubs coming towards him with a notepad in one hand, ‘Wenzel’ on his name tag. “Good evening. Thank you for coming so fast.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is he okay? Can I see him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mr Kid”, the shorter nurse said as his voice dropped a notch, to what Kid assumed to be his breaking bad news voice, “Why don’t you have a seat?”</p><p> </p><p>For a second he wanted to argue that he does not want to sit his ass down when he could go and see Kill, but he figured it would be faster if he did things Wenzel’s way. Also the serious and sympathetic look the other was giving him made him think it would be a particularly good idea. So he reluctantly sat down on the nearest chair. Wenzel left an empty chair between them before he sat down.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m afraid this is quite serious,” he paused to let that sink in, “When Killer was admitted, he had lost a lot of blood, both externally and into his own body.”</p><p> </p><p>“… that’s bad.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is. Which is why he’s having an emergency operation at the moment and blood transfusions.” He paused again, “I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid felt lightheaded again. He had no idea what most of it meant but he understood Killer is probably hanging somewhere between life and death, “How did it happen?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re not exactly sure,” Wenzel replied, “His blood tests were clean, so we think it could have been just an accident. The police will look into that.”</p><p> </p><p>“He never drinks when he’s driving, likes a cig every now and then but no drugs or pot on anything.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you. This information would help. Is there anything else you think we should know? or anything you’d like to know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t think of anything. I was with him this morning and he was fine.” Kid said, his voice hoarse even to his own ears, “was there anybody else with him? A woman with pink hair? Bonney?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, as a matter of fact, yes.” Wenzel glanced at his notepad, “Is she a friend?”</p><p> </p><p>“His girlfriend. Is she alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“She has a concussion and a broken left arm,” he replied, “we are keeping her for twenty-four hours just to be safe, but she should be okay. It’s good that she was wearing a helmet.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid fought against the bile in his throat and the self-hatred that came with it. <em>Killer should have been wearing a helmet too…</em></p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” He croaked, “Can I see him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Like I said, he’s still in theaters. You can wait upstairs for them to finish, but I imagine he would go straight to ICU afterwards.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid followed his directions and the signs pointing to where the theaters would be after he scribbled down Bonney’s ward and room number on a piece of paper and left his details with Wenzel in case he needed to contact him about either of them.</p><p>He reached the empty waiting area on the first floor, a bright yellow space with cozy blue chairs opposite the large mechanical double doors leading to the operating theaters that had a red sign on top, announcing ‘STAFF ACCESS ONLY’. He sat down on one of the chairs and could only stare at the door.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time of his life, Eustass Kid prayed to a god he didn’t believe in to help him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know if you liked this one at all.<br/>Thanks to everyone who helped with mistakes in the previous chapters. I don't have a beta and this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so I do apologize for any weird inconsistencies you may find and I do appreciate you pointing them out so I can fix it.</p><p>Stay safe, and thanks for reading.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Stitches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm incredibly sorry about the delay, but life was a bitch lately and I couldn't focus hard enough.<br/>Anyways, here's the next chapter and I'm happy I finally got them to meet without forcing them inexplicably in a room! I hope you're in it for the long ride because this looks like it's going to be a slow burn, but I'm not planning to drop it anytime soon.</p><p>Happy reading, you guys! Thanks for sticking with me so far.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His day started at six am. He had a twelve hour shift that was supposed to finish at eight, he was late and for some cosmic fucked up conspiracy, when he did leave the hospital he came right back in with two new people to patch up.</p><p>
  <em> Which is why he was still in the fucking OR at fucking four in the fucking morning.</em>
</p><p>While he seethed inside, he was the picture of collected, sane and calm as he worked to remove the man’s spleen and stop any bleeders in his way. Next to him, the assisting nurse and junior intern were helping with pumping him full of blood to compensate for the losses and clearing his field with saline so he can actually see what he was doing in the man’s abdomen while the plastics surgeon worked on the wounds in his face.</p><p>Lucky for Killer -<em>what kind of fucking name was that, anyway?</em>- his CT showed a small hematoma under a broken skull bone (which looked way worse than it actually was) but nothing massive in his brain, despite the total lack of protective wear. His spleen had ruptured and was bleeding inside his abdomen and he had a few broken ribs but Law was good at vascular surgery and was able to get the spleen out and stop the bleeders.</p><p>Unlucky for Killer, though, it looked like he basically fell on his face that was then dragged through a grater. Which is why the plastic surgeon was taking so long trying to patch him back together with minimal loss and scarring.</p><p>He knew it was sort of 'frowned upon' to work more than twelve hours a day or forty eight a week, but he couldn’t go home. One: while he could have just left the two on the roadside as the ambulance took care of it, that would mean they would have been transported to FUH where they would be operated on by the night team, who currently had their hands full with other shit and would have delayed this operation till then, losing precious time. Two: he knew he shouldn’t think this way and technically this guy was the on call’s patient, but <em>he </em>found him. For all intents and purposes this was <em>his </em>patient and he would see him through the door. Three: he had nothing better to do at home but sleep and study and feed Bepo.</p><p>
  <em>What’s a couple more hours if he’s already late anyway?</em>
</p><p>Lucky for him, he had the next day -technically today- off. He couldn’t wait to call a cab and finally crash on his bed. The thought of having a bath almost had him weak in the knees...</p><p>He wrapped up, took off his gloves and apron and asked the nurse to clean and dress the wounds while he called the man's next of kin. He went to the office next to the OR to collect the patient’s folder, glancing at his past medical history from their data base and seeing a photo of him in his usual GP’s records. He winced at the memory of his bloody and battered face compared to what he thought was a fairly decent one on a young man. Almost his own age… He snapped out of it and took the folder as he went out into the waiting area. He was on his way to one of the phones scattered around the room before—</p><p> </p><p>“Oi! You!”</p><p> </p><p>He irritably turned around, surprised and annoyed that anyone would be there past midnight, let alone four in the freaking morning, anyway. He was confronted with a running six foot eight wall of muscle crowned with a flaming mess of red and wide, frantic red eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“… Can I help you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Killer! Were you in there? Do you know anything about my friend, Killer Fabian? is he going to make it? Is he alive?”</p><p> </p><p>Law blinked at the barrage of questions from the hulk of a man before him, then glanced down at the folder in his hands. “Right.” He opened it to the first page, containing some personal details, including whom to call in case of emergencies. He glanced up at the frantic other, “Eustass… Kid?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes! Is that his file? Is he okay? Are you his doctor?”</p><p> </p><p>Law snapped the folder shut and held out his name badge, “Trafalgar Law. I’m one of the surgeons looking after him. Would you please have a seat so we could talk?”</p><p> </p><p>After waiting for hours in this room, sitting on four different chairs and wearing a hole in the floor, Kid really didn't want to sit down, <em>thank you very fucking much.</em> “I don’t want to fucking sit down! Just... Tell me what's going on.”</p><p>Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He usually hated family discussions and wasn’t comfortable having them, particularly when things weren’t going very well with his patients. He sure as fuck didn’t need their drama now on top of his twelve-turned-twenty-plus hour shift and wasn't about to take this one's shit anytime soon.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> He took a steadying breath and maintained an air of professionalism.</span></p><p> </p><p>“I can see you’re worried. There’s no need to swear or raise your voice,” He said, letting a bit of his irritation show in his tone as he focused his steel gaze on the other, “So if you would kindly <em>calm down and take a seat</em>, I would tell you all you need to know and answer all your questions. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the day team to give you an update in,” he fished out his watch from his pocket, “four hours, give or take.”</p><p> </p><p>He calmly stared back at the redhead whose face was rapidly matching his hair color and mentally prepared himself to duck and call security if the other’s tight fists so much as flickered in his direction.</p><p>To his relief, ‘Kid’ sucked a big breath through his nose and walked backwards to the chairs in the waiting area and stiffly sat down, his fists curling around the arms of the chair as if to restrain himself.<em>Smart.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Can you talk to me now?” he asked through gritted teeth.</p><p> </p><p>Law smiled thinly as he crossed the distance between them and sat down leaving an empty chair between them, just in case.</p><p> </p><p>“How much do you understand of what happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing. Someone called me to say Kill got himself in an accident and I need to come in so I did. They said he’s not looking too good.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right. So when he first came in, Mr Fabian had seemingly lost a lot of blood in the accident and he had blood tests and scans to try and figure out what exactly was wrong with him.” He paused to allow the other to ask any questions, but he had none and continued to stare at him intently, so he continued, “He had a couple of broken ribs and a shattered spleen. The broken ribs would heal on their own, but the spleen had to be removed and we got the bleeding under control. He had to receive a couple of bags of blood to keep him going, but that should be fine now.”</p><p> </p><p>“So he doesn’t have a spleen now?” a nod. “Is that going to be a problem? Does he need another one?”</p><p> </p><p>Law fought the urge to smirk. Sometimes he forgot that not everyone knew what’s what in the human body, but he found it endearing the other was ready to volunteer an organ for his friend, despite being a rude knucklehead.</p><p>“No. He doesn’t need another one and it’s not an essential organ for life per se, but he will need a couple of jabs before he leaves the hospital.”</p><p> </p><p>The redhead visibly relaxed, his red eyes getting more hopeful “So he’s fine? When can I see him?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m afraid there’s more to it than that, unfortunately.” The other tensed right back up again, “He had some pretty serious looking abrasions and wounds to his face and broke his skull. His scans showed that there is a small bit of blood outside his brain from the broken bone. This would likely just resolve on its own in a couple of days and our neurosurgeons weren’t worried, but we’ll know for sure when he wakes up. His face, however, seemed to require a lot of work. So i’m afraid there will be some serious scarring.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Kid took a deep breath, as if calming himself down, “So he’ll have some shitty scars and won’t look as pretty, that’s okay. He’ll hate it, but it’s okay. So long as he’s actually alive…”</p><p> </p><p>Law gave him a second to get his attention again. “He’s currently more stable than when he first came in, and the small hema— blood collection seems to be stable enough but we’ll need him to stay in recovery for at least twenty four to forty eight hours of observation and my colleagues will see him again tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right.” He nodded slowly, as if processing everything in his head, “When can I see him?”</p><p> </p><p>“As soon as he comes out and is transferred to a room, so soon enough.”</p><p> </p><p>The redhead opened his mouth but the sound of the doors opening made him jerk his head so fast Law winced at the crick he must now have in his neck. <em>Talk of the devil.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Right. So unless you have any other questions, I’ll be on my way.” Law said as the other bolted mid sentence to follow his friend and Law nodded at the nurse transporting Killer to let him. He walked at a much more sedate pace after them with the folder and dropped it off with the rest of the medical notes after he documented his conversation with Kid and the rest of his plan. He then changed and called a cab.</p><p>There’s no way in hell he was driving in his current state, he could pick up his car tomorrow or later today after he’s had some sleep and a warm bath.</p><p>
  <em>What a day...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Kid pulled a chair and sat down next to Killer’s hospital bed. He couldn’t bear to look at his friend in this state, all bandaged up and hooked up to weird lines and beeping machines but he also couldn’t look away. He couldn’t see his face but his eyes looked swollen from between the bandages and wondered what he looked like underneath. His thoughts went back to what the doctor, <em>Law was it?</em>, had said. He was a bit of a stuck up but looked like he knew his shit and he didn’t seem too worried about what’s going on inside as much as outside, which meant he's not going to die and Kid could live with that. He only worried because Kid could get a little vain and would throw a fit...</p><p>He stayed there, slumped in the uncomfortable plastic chair when a nurse came by to take his observations again and reassured him everything looked fine and compassionately asked if he needed anything, which he didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s done a fine job, as always.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Doctor Trafalgar. He’s young, but he’s one of our best and most gifted surgeons.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is he.” He really didn’t care, but the small talk kept him awake and was helping him focus on something else other than the beeping and the sterile smells of the hospital. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Your friend is really lucky.”</p><p> </p><p>“What, that your doctors know how to do their job?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” The nurse looked taken aback, “that he was there when it happened.”</p><p> </p><p>“…Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“He didn’t tell you?” she let out a small huff, shaking her head. “Of course he wouldn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me what?” Kid was getting really confused and not particularly patient after a very long day but remembered to keep his temper in check, “Am I missing something?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, he was supposed to finish his shift at eight, but he wouldn’t leave until much later because it got so busy. Which is when he stumbled upon your friend here in critical condition while he was driving home.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid looked at the clock on the wall and snorted incredulously at the time then back at the nurse who was counting Kill’s breaths.</p><p> </p><p>“He was quick to call an ambulance after some first aid, stayed with them throughout and insisted on driving back here and doing the surgery himself even if it was well past the end of his shift. I’d hate to think of what could have possibly happened if he wasn’t there.” She looked at the bewildered man, smiling softly. “It’s the kind of thing that restores your faith in people, you know.”</p><p>With that she left Kid to his thoughts, feeling much shittier than before. The man had basically saved Killer’s life. He respected that he never flaunted it to his face and Kid pretty much yelled at him instead of thanking him for it.He silently vowed to apologize to him and set things right when he next saw him. He looked at the resting form of Killer and sighed heavily.</p><p>
  <em>Ain’t like I’m going anywhere anytime soon…</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that's that.</p><p>Thank you for reading, please let me know how you found this chapter. I'm curious about how that first encounter went.</p><p>As always, stay safe! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Parallels</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry about the delay. Life has been a bit of a mess lately and I couldn't focus, but I find writing fairly therapeutic when I actually can bring myself to do it so here goes.</p><p>Hope you like this one and I hope you let me know what you think, as usual.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Today is going to be a good day.</em>
</p><p>He had slept most of Saturday away, only waking up a couple of times to shower and eat something, fed Bepo and went back to sleep again. On Sunday, he was woken up by none other than Lami who insisted they go shopping, using his very empty and miserable fridge as an excuse to drag him through half an hour in the supermarket and three around the mall plus three more in the movies because he’s “the best froggy in the whole world!”, a.k.a a complete sucker.</p><p>They cruised around in Law’s car, had dinner at their parents’ house where Freya insisted on packing some food for him for the next couple of days, to his delight. Lami pleaded with him to stay the night but he had work on Monday, so she decided to sleep over at his place instead.</p><p>He woke up this morning to see her curled up on the couch, not unlike Bepo who was curled up on<em> her,</em> both fast asleep. Law grinned, took a quick photo of them, sent it to his parents and kissed the top of Lami’s head as he covered her bare shoulder with the blue blanket before tiptoeing out of his apartment.</p><p>Law’s good spirits stayed with him as he walked into FUH, coffee cup in hand, ready to face a brand new day. After changing into his usual black scrubs, he knew he had plenty of time before he had to start work in ED, so he made a beeline to Ward 11.</p><p>One thing he liked about surgery, was that it was a snapshot. A problem he had to go in, fix it and get out. Usually; surgical patients tended to stay in for a couple of days and then they’re out of the door with few exceptions and he found it ironically poetic, in a way, that something as intimate as surgery would be so brief, so detached.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Doffy would just fucking love that.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>But as much as he hated getting<em> too</em> involved, he liked knowing what happens to the patients he has seen up to the moment they leave the hospital gates. It was one of the first things Doffy had taught him since he took him in as a protege of sorts: ‘If they’re still in hospital, they’re still your patient.'</p><p>Which is why he was currently sat at the nurses’ station, leafing through Killer’s slim folder and looking up his tests and images over the past weekend.</p><p>According to Peng and Shachi, he was well on his way to recovery. He was quite drowsy and when he did wake up for a couple of hours, he was heavily delirious on Saturday, thanks to his head injury and a good amount of drugs in his system. He seemed to be improving on Sunday and getting a bit more lucid, despite having the memory of a mutilated goldfish.</p><p>Which was fine. He was still rocky but what was important was that he is getting there and Law was happy to know <em>his</em> emergency surgery was a success and was healing properly.</p><p>His face, however, was a different story.</p><p>He frowned as he read the detailed patchwork of Killer’s face. The damage was quite extensive and he had needed about forty stitches to his scalp and face collectively. He never needed grafts, but Law knew something this big would leave some pretty extensive scarring behind and the plastics surgeon expected as much.</p><p>He recognized the neat and even handwriting and her signature at the ned of her entries confirmed it: Ikkaku. She was a senior plastics surgeon, one year older than him. She had a solid presence in the OR. Law knew she was quite meticulous and was dextrous with a needle. She’s the one that worked on Killer’s face while Law himself worked on his abdomen and apparently, was on call over that weekend and saw him everyday.</p><p>He could see that she had tried to explain all of it to him -admittedly to no avail- and also to his next of kin. He remembered the red headed behemoth from last week and snorted at Ikkaku’s documentation of <em>‘long conversation with anxious and intense NOK’.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Right.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Apparently ‘<em>Mr Kid’</em> was a constant presence throughout the weekend and barely left his friend’s side and was quite anxious despite repeated explanations that recovery takes some time. Law glanced over at the bay where he knew his patient lay and sure enough, there was the flaming mess of red hair again.</p><p>The practical, “doctor” part of him groaned that he had to deal with relatives this early in the morning, patience and honey-coating not being his strongest suits. But a smaller, younger part of him knew exactly what it was like sitting in the dark, in that chair, in a sterile room and waiting to be told what’s happening with the people you loved the most while your mind played tragedies and worst-case-scenarios in your head— that part completely understood. </p><p>So Law mentally braced himself as he made his way over to the bay. He could see Fabian lying in bed, seemingly out of it for now. The monitor he was hooked up to showing normal vitals and a drip running through his arm. His companion had his back turned to the door, his head hung low as he slept in his chair and Law had to wince at the crick he would undoubtedly wake up to and if he wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be wearing the same thing he did when he first saw him on Saturday morning.</p><p>He swallowed the lump in his throat at the memory of a different hospital, different chair and a smaller patient—</p><p>He drew the curtains around the unconscious bandaged man and his visitor, whose head immediately snapped up to blink blearily at him from his snooze. Law met his red-rimmed eyes and heavy bags underneath.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning. I’m Trafalgar Law, one of the surgeons looking after Mr Fabian.”</p><p> </p><p>The other was still trying to regain some sense of his surroundings as he rubbed at his eyes. He seemed to realize after a minute of awkward silence that he was expected to reply. “… Eustass Kid. I’m his friend. I think we met on Saturday.”</p><p> </p><p>Law nodded. He briefly tried to wake the blond man from his slumber but he just groaned and winced and went back to sleep. Law glanced at his medications chart and saw the heavy morphine he had this morning and last night and let him sleep while he got to work.</p><p>He examined the unconscious man who groaned again as he poked at him, carefully removing the bandages wrapped carefully around his abdomen to inspect his wounds. He was painfully aware of his fiend’s eyes on him, following his every move silently. That was fine, he was used to being watched while he worked, even if Kid staring at <em>him</em> rather than what he was doing was slightly unnerving. Once he was satisfied with everything he covered Killer once more and turned to the other.</p><p> </p><p>“Looks like everything’s fine and on the mend. I trust my colleagues have already explained everything that we did to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. They said something about a brain bleed? and there is going to be lasting damage to his face.”</p><p> </p><p>“Precisely. Any questions about those?”</p><p> </p><p>“Will that leave a mark?” he gestured vaguely at Killer’s bandaged face.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not sure I am the most qualified person to answer that question,” Law said honestly, “But I imagine it would, yes.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid opened and closed his mouth a few times before deciding, “When will he be up on his feet again?”</p><p> </p><p>“The blood in his brain will take its time before it entirely resolves, but it’s normal for him to trip and have some balance issues for a while after the event. Also, the painkillers are making him more drowsy, so it would be unfair to judge that now.” Kid nodded. “But I expect he may be able to go home as soon as he is better, more lucid. When we think he’s out of the woods our physio colleagues would see him. What does he do?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a chef in a restaurant downtown, Baratie?”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone who lived in Flevance for a while knew the restaurant quite well and Law and his family went there often enough. “Right. Might be a while before he goes back especially if he regularly deals with knives and tools. Also, he won’t be able to drive for some time.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid ran a hand over his face, warily glancing at Killer.</p><p> </p><p>“He’ll hate this…”</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately that’s how it has to be for now, for his own safety.” Law said, not unkindly, “He is already on his way to recovery, but it could take a while and would definitely need patience.”</p><p> </p><p>The other leaned forward and nodded as he tried to come to terms with his friend’s predicament.</p><p>“…Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Any other questions?”</p><p> </p><p>Another pause. He seemed to hesitate before, “Not that I can think of, no.”</p><p> </p><p>“Grand. I’ll come around to check on him again tomorrow and more of my colleagues will come and see him today. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask any of us.”</p><p> </p><p>He then drew the curtains back and went the nursing station to document his visit. As he was leaving he looked one more time towards them, to Kid adjusting the covers around Killer and he couldn’t help the small, nostalgic smile on his face.</p><p>
  <em>Fabian might have bad luck, but he had good friends.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Kid sighed as he put his phone back into his back pocket. He called in sick today, explaining the situation to Heat and Wire and apologizing to them, only to have them tell him off and threaten that if he comes into office for any reason other than needing the distraction of piles of work, they’d happily key his car. He was grateful for their understanding and proimsedhimself to treat them somehow when this is over. </p><p> </p><p><em>Wonder when that will be,</em> another sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve already done too many of those today, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>His already battered neck protested at the sudden twist towards his friend, making him wince. “Welcome back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dunno about that.” the other groaned as he moved his head this way and that experimentally, “How long have I been out?”</p><p> </p><p>“You drifted in and out for the past couple of days, but you slept through the whole night.” Kid edged forward, “How you feelin’ Kill?”</p><p> </p><p>“Like I’ve been hit by a bus.” he said dryly, smirking at the other’s scowl, “Not in so much pain though, but my head’s pretty fuzzy and my throat feels like sandpaper.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid jumped to get the water cup with a small straw in it and raised the bed like the nurses used to do, finally putting the straw to his lips. The other gratefully gulped it down and asked for more which Kid quickly obliged.</p><p> </p><p>“The doctor came to see you this morning.” Killer blinked at him from where he was sucking the clear liquid, “He says it’s all good news but you gotta take it easy for a while when you get out of here…”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair play.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Kid put the hand not holding the plastic cup on his friend’s shoulder, waiting until he looked him in the eyes again, “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll make it through this, Kill.”</p><p> </p><p>Killer opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as his gaze flicked to a point over Kid’s right shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Aw. Sorry Red, but bad boy here’s taken.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid rolled his eyes as he gave up his seat and went to place the cup on the small table by Killer’s bed. “Hey, Bon.”</p><p> </p><p>He had of course checked in on Bonney when he was reassured Killer was stable. She had been transferred to a room across the hospital in the orthopedics ward since her injuries were mainly her left broken upper arm, now hanging from a collar in a -pink- plaster. She looked better than the slurry, drowsy mess he’d seen in the room two days ago when he had decided that 'weak' was not a good look on Bonney. Definitely not one he'd like to see anytime again on her, or obviously on Killer. Now broken arm and a bandaid on her face aside, you’d never be able to tell the pinkette strutting into the room like it’s a catwalk had been in the same accident as Killer.</p><p>He had to forcibly stomp on the small pang of hate he felt at that.</p><p>
  <em>Bonney is Kill’s girlfriend, she’s a good person and she’s YOUR friend, dickhead.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hey babe.” She grinned at said boyfriend, as she bent down to kiss his bandaged cheek, “How you doin’?”</p><p> </p><p>“Awesome,” he lifted his arm to her face as he gave her a quick peck on her lips, his thumb tracing the bandaid, “You okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“I'm great! Just a scratch.” She sank down into the warm seat Kid had vacated and crossed her legs, “Sticks and stones and all that jazz.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid snorted from where he grabbed another chair and sat down on Killer’s other side, “More like fuckin’ trucks.” He pretended he never saw the nurse glaring at his language and didn't notice Killer stiffening at that.</p><p> </p><p>“Semantics” she waved him off, turning to Killer again, “By the way, I got you something!” She deftly reached into her large bag and came up with a small yellow object that she held to his face.</p><p> </p><p>“…Pikatchu?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup!” She looked too excited to be in a hospital, “I know he’s your favorite. Had to getcha somethin’ and the hospital sticklers don’t like flowers in here, so.”</p><p> </p><p>“Because they spread infection!” Kid snorted.</p><p> </p><p>She rolled her eyes but mostly ignored him otherwise. “Well? like it?”</p><p> </p><p>Killer reached up and took it from her, turning it in his hands as beady, empty black eyes stared cheerfully back at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.” he breathed, “thanks Bon.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid’s eyes jumped between the two of them: between his friend hunching on himself as he blinked at the stupid toy and Bonney looking like a serial killer with her grin that was rapidly thinning and he immediately shot up from his seat.</p><p> </p><p>He needed to get out of here.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get to the vending machines,” he announced as he stood up, “Any thing for you guys?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m good!”</p><p> </p><p>A head shake.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded as he left the ward, making his way to the small coffee shop he saw near the hospital entrance. On his way, he tried not to stare too hard at the different people walking around with drips hanging from their arms or tubes coming out of somewhere the sun doesn’t shine. He shuddered. <em>Kill has one of those</em>.</p><p>Coffee cup in hand and one BLT bagel in the other, he sat down at a wooden bench that was near a small garden patch in the hospital atrium. At times like these, he wished he could reach into his pocket, grab a cigarette and fall back on the sweet burn of nicotine. But he quit years ago with Killer and wouldn’t want to do that to him, not now when Killer needed him to be strong for the both of them. So he drank his piping hot drink instead and hoped the drink would wake him up without making him too jittery. </p><p>His thoughts wandered to the doctor -Trafalgar. He hadn't thought he would see him again but was happy he did. The other surgeons had said he had done a good job and the nurses seemed to respect him plenty, too. It made him slightly more at ease that someone who knew their shit was taking care of Kill, so at least that was good. He remembered when he checked on Killer, slim hands working from experience, his expression focussed entirely on his friends and he had to wonder how he deals with the gruesomeness of it all, every single day.</p><p>
  <em>"-insisted on driving back here and doing the surgery himself even if it was well past the end of his shift. I’d hate to think of what could have possibly happened if he wasn’t there."</em>
</p><p><em>Shit.</em> He mentally kicked himself in the process for not thanking the man for all he had done for them. He just had to get his shit together and swallow his goddamn pride and say it like a normal person. </p><p>
  <em>"Recovery takes time."</em>
</p><p>Well, at least they still have plenty of that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome and make my day.<br/>Please be kind in pointing out anything weird, I wrote this at 03:00am while listening to a Eurovision mix.</p><p>Fair warning: next chapter may have a short trip to angsty land.</p><p>As always, be safe.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Of Hospitals and Coffeeshops</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome back!<br/>Bonney is SO much fun to write! And it's incredibly difficult to write Kid and Law in the same room.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Five minutes have passed and they still hadn’t said anything.</p><p>It wasn’t that Bonney couldn’t handle silence. She was, contrary to what everyone who didn't know her well enough thought, quite well-versed in it; having been brought up by a single, stern military man for a father and no one else to talk to for hours on end in their mansion in Alabasta. She had learned to vanish into her room when he clenched his jaw after a long day and to ask him for that brand new kitchen set she wanted so bad as he sat at his desk and penned down his reports. She had learned to ask him about his day when his severe frown was more relaxed and to leave him alone when he sipped his whiskey and stared unseeing at their fireplace.</p><p>This silence, however, was stifling.</p><p>She had so much to say to Killer, all at the tip of her tongue: <em>Thank you. Are you okay. I’m sorry we had to stay late. Thank you. What’s on your mind. How do you feel. Are you in pain. It’ll be okay. Are we okay. </em>She just didn’t know where to start.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” She blinked and found him no longer hunched over and staring at his hands, but staring directly at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay, Bonney?”</p><p> </p><p>“Me? I’m dandy.”</p><p> </p><p>She dropped her happy face when his clear blue eyes visible under his bandages still looked like a kicked puppy, “I’m fine. Just a broken arm and scratches here and there. How are <em>you</em>, Kil?”</p><p> </p><p>“Been better.” She snorted and killer sighed, “They said I was bleeding into my stomach and into my brain but I'm still here, so.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she nodded, “So that’s good. You in pain?”</p><p> </p><p>“More like numb,” he said as he glanced down at his stomach, covered by bandages and the hospital’s standard green blanket, “Sometimes it hurts when I move too much and I’m a bit woozy but overall, fine. You?”</p><p> </p><p>She lifted her plastered arm with a feeble wave when he pointedly glanced at it and grinned at him, “Aw, this ain’t so bad! Hurt like a bitch at first but now I’m poppin’ those painkillers like skittles. Apparently they give you good shit when you break an arm.”</p><p> </p><p>That earned her a chuckle, “Or shatter your spleen. And your head.”</p><p> </p><p>His blue, <em>blue</em> eyes found their way back to hers, “I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“What for?”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed, “For getting you into this. I should have been more careful, paid more attention, called a cab, or we could have—” He was abruptly interrupted by her glossed lips firmly pressed to his split and bruised ones, effectively shutting him up. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the stinging kiss, as Bonney carefully kept it light, her hands gently combing through his hair, mindful of his bandages. She pulled back an inch to stare into his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Shit happens, accidents happen. It could have happened another time, any other day, to anyone at any time. If anything, I’m sorry I got the helmet.” She touched one finger to his mouth as he opened it to undoubtedly object, “We’re alive and that’s all that matters. Stop blamin’ yourself for somethin’ that’s outta your control.”</p><p> </p><p>He stared at her, unsure of what to say or how to respond. He knew she wouldn’t lie or be here unless she wanted to be and Bonney never really minced her words. So he believed her. For now.</p><p>“…okay.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled back at him and gave him one last peck before returning to her seat, her customary grin back in place as if their little interruption never happened. In a way, Killer was grateful to the sense of ‘normalcy’, to having a normal conversation that didn’t involve the accident. “Old man Zeff says hi, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>“You went to Baratie?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, dumbass.” She rolled her eyes at him, “I called to let him know we’re not clockin’ in for a while.” Her grin got wider as she waved lifted her broken arm and gave it a little wave, “This baby just guaranteed me at least 6 weeks of Netflix, takeaways and chill!”</p><p> </p><p>“How did that go?” While old man Zeff was usually chill and would let his employees get away with murder as long as there’s someone showing up to cook for his customers, he cared about each and every single one of them and Killer and Bonney were no exception and they knew it. </p><p> </p><p>“As well as you’d expect,” she shrugged her good shoulder, “pretended he’s all pissed about business going stale and <em>goddamn reckless kids, </em>but sounded really worried on the phone.”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help a light chuckle at her impression, “Figures.”</p><p> </p><p>“He wants to visit you. They all do, but wanted me to check with you if it’s okay.”</p><p> </p><p>As he opened his mouth to respond, he noticed a young woman in orange scrubs coming towards them as she put on her white gloves as she held a slim folder under her arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello! Mr Fabian?” He nodded, “I’m Ikkaku, one of the plastic surgeons.” She smiled at his visitor, “Bonney, if I remember correctly?”</p><p> </p><p>“Told you I’m famous.” The latter nudged Killer’s leg, who only rolled his eyes. “Um, you want me to leave? I can go get a coffee, or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s the boss.” Ikkaku nodded at Killer, who reassured them its fine, so she continued, “Okay. How are you today, Mr Fabian?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just Killer,” he sighed, “Better, I guess? Still foggy and this hurts.” he waved at his bandages under the blanket as Bonney grabbed the other and squeezed. He lightly squeezed back.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s okay. From your notes, it looks like my colleagues in general surgery have done a fine job and are happy with the wound and its healing. I would expect some pain and limited movement for a short while, but should heal pretty fast. You should be up and about pretty soon.” She reassured him, “What about your face? Any pain there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Aches. Somewhat numb.”</p><p> </p><p>Ikkaku then told him more about the damage to his face: that he had lots of abrasions as well as open wounds, how the worst of it extended from his right cheek into his scalp and needed more than thirty stitches that would be removed in a week, but he doesn’t have to stay in hospital for it. Killer listened and tried to imagine how he must look like, lying there and what would he possibly look like when all the gauze and bandages get removed.</p><p> </p><p>“Will it scar?”</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately, yes.” Ikkaku said, letting gentleness seep into her voice, “The damage was skin deep, but extensive. This kind of injuries usually leaves a mark which could be worse with infection and such, so we’ll have to be careful with the dressings and keep it clean while it’s raw. We also have different methods that would help with scarring and making it more cosmetic, but That's a different conversation to a latter time.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded. He could feel Bonney’s worried gaze on him and only then realized how hard he’s been gripping her hand. He quickly let go.</p><p>She didn't.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it okay if I take a look?” The surgeon softly asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Kill,” He looked at Bonney’s open expression, “It’s okay if you want me to go.” When he didn’t say anything or readily object she gave him an earnest smile and softly kissed his hand before placing it gently back on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll look for coffee. Also Kid.” She said as she turned to leave, “Do you need me to call him in?”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head. “Thanks Bonney.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled again, promised she'll come back, thanked Ikkaku and drew the curtains back as she left.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Law sighed for the hundredth time that day as he waited his turn in the coffee shop queue. Why they didn’t have a priority pass for people who actually worked here, he had no idea. Granted, he was on his break and was already done with work until they decide to page him again so technically had nothing better to do, but he would rather spend his breaks literally anywhere other than standing around in a very long and slow queue, <em>thank you very much.</em></p><p> </p><p>“You’d think they have a premium pass or something for you guys.”</p><p> </p><p>Law snorted as he turned to face the man echoing his thoughts, somehow recognizing the deep voice from before. Sure enough, he was faced with one 6’8 Eustass Kid who looked slightly more alert and less a wreck than this morning when he found him sleeping at his friend’s bedside.</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, “First come, first served, unfortunately.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid grinned, “Would have thought doctors get at least a coffee machine.”</p><p> </p><p>“There is an ancient one in the office. But every time it dies they <em>helpfully</em> fix it, hence the queue.” </p><p> </p><p>The redhead let out a barking laugh at the other’s deadpan sarcasm. Law smirked as he shuffled forward in the snail paced queue. They made small talk about coffee and the best coffee shops they know as the line slowly advanced.</p><p> </p><p>“Monet?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s down at the intersection between Rosewald and Aarlong. It’s a small hall-in-the-wall kind of place and very easy to miss. But they serve the best coffee in town and they have a gallery attached where the owner exhibits her latest work. It's very artsy if you're into that sort of thing without paying a fortune.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh. I know the area because I work nearby. But never noticed a coffee shop there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Like I said, it’s really discreet and somewhat of a family business. The owner likes to keep it hidden in plain sight, or whatever.” Law waved nonchalantly, “What do you do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Engineer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah.”</p><p> </p><p>Their conversation came to a halt, partly because their conversation went into a more personal territory than either of them knew how to trod without being nosy and partly because it was Law’s turn at the cashier’s. He ordered his Americano and before Kid had a chance to offer to get it, took out his phone and paid for it. Kid ordered the same with a bottle of water and the ginger biscuits he and Killer liked and waited awkwardly next to Law as the other took out his phone and was scrolling through it.</p><p>“By the way, I, uh, wanted to thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” The shorter man glanced at him and Kid couldn’t help but notice he had very petty grey eyes with thick, black lashes-</p><p>He mentally slapped himself as he refocused on his mini-speech.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanted to thank you,” he repeated, “for saving my friends' life. The nurses told me what you’ve done.”</p><p> </p><p>The other mentally cursed. Most of the nurses he knew and dealt with were good and competent and he definitely appreciated them, but their gossip about everyone and everything grated on his nerves.</p><p> </p><p>“I only did what any other person would have done.” Law retorted, uncomfortable with the unexpected and undeserved praise.</p><p> </p><p>“Like hell.” Kid snorted, “Listen, Killer is… my family. I really want to thank you for saving his and Bonney’s life. Whatever you want.”</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously, there’s no need—”</p><p> </p><p>“Also, I, uh,” Kid awkwardly shuffled in place as he scratched his head, messing up his hair even more as Law had to strain to hear his sudden mumbling, “I’ve been a bit of a dick that first time I met you on Saturday. So I want to make that up to you as well—”</p><p> </p><p>“Look, it’s—”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d take it, if I were you.”</p><p> </p><p>Law looked at the source of the new voice as she sauntered in with a cup that held a hot beverage and what looked like every single topping the little coffee shop had on the whipped cream mountain on top. He immediately recognized her as the other road traffic victim from that same day, Betty? Becky?</p><p> </p><p>“Red here can be a bit of a knucklehead, but he doesn’t do gratitude or apologies for that matter. You’d be the first.” she smiled sweetly over the rim of her cup at said redhead who was getting much more red and openly glaring at her, “I’m Bonney, by the way. I’m told you’re our hero, so thanks.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s very kind of you,” Law scowled and tried not to sound as flustered as he felt as he put a lid on his coffee, “But as I said, entirely unnecessary. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”</p><p> </p><p>With that he practically bolted, taking long and fast strides to the ER. Kid watched him go, annoyed his conversation didn’t exactly go as he’d planned in his head. He was suddenly very aware of Bonney staring owlishly at him.</p><p> </p><p>“The fuck?” he growled at her, helping himself to the cinnamon sprinkler and giving it a good shake on his coffee, “You just had to do that, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Or,” she sat down at one of the small tables , “Just saved your ass from the embarrassment.”</p><p> </p><p>“Say what now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t it illegal or against some shit code to go out with his patients?”</p><p> </p><p>She was very glad her seat was away from the coffee projectile that came out of his face and grabbed some tissues to calmly wipe the table with as he stopped his coughing and spluttering fits.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck are you talking about?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude,” she cocked one delicate eyebrow at him, “You were totally hitting on him and you were definitely checking him out. Not that I blame you but—”</p><p> </p><p><em>“I was trying to thank him for saving your asses!</em>” He growled.</p><p> </p><p>“And my ass is grateful,” she nodded sagely, “But you were crushing hard and he looks like he’s got morals. So give it up, buttercup.”</p><p> </p><p>“I—” He stared at her in disbelief and ruthlessly strangled the part of him that helpfully brought up the memory of blue-grey orbs with pretty black lashes. He ran an irritable hand through his hair, “Fuck. I’ll just get him a fucking box of chocolates and a card.”</p><p> </p><p>“Atta boy.” She said as she licked her spoon clean from whipped cream.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s he?” he asked and she sobered up immediately, their carefree mood evaporating as they remembered why they were there in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>“The plastics lady went to see his face.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid winced, “was he okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Dunno,” she sighed, “He’s hiding it, but I think he’s pretty freaked out about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Figured.” Kid nodded and at her curious look added, “Kill always hated scars.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you know him best.” she said, “You don’t have to tell me anything he wouldn’t. I’ve got his back anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>It was times like these that Kid could see what his friend loved about Bonney. He smiled gratefully at her and went on anyway, “When we were brats, lots of the other kids thought it’s cool to get into fights all the time and come out with cool scars as proof. Like a warrior or something retarded like that.” he twirled his plastic cup absentmindedly, “I was one of those. Used to get my ass kicked all the time and gave as good as I got, but Kill wouldn’t. He’d just sit in a corner and read.” He chuckled at the memory of a younger Killer reading Sora’s adventures while he wrestled on the orphanage floor with some punk over something stupid, “He thought it’s pretty lame to fight over nothing and get something to prove it.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s got them anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, he does. Just not where it's visible. He would always say that he wanted to get out of the orphanage, out of our small town with its small people and make it big in the world. That he wanted to be someone that is better than a delinquent and so didn’t want his scars to define him.” He chucked his cup into the nearest trash can, expression tense, “And that’s how I decided to grow the fuck up and be a normal human being and got my shit together.”</p><p> </p><p>Bonney had a thoughtful expression and by the time he finished, she was staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. They didn’t say anything for a while, comfortable in their shared silence, each lost in their own thought.</p><p> </p><p>He glanced at his watch, “I should head back. Tell him good bye and all before I go home. Coming?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and they stood up as he adjusted his burgundy sweater, taking his water bottle and ginger biscuits with him. They made their way back to the ward as she hooked her arm in his. Before they went in, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his clean shaven cheek, startling him. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“What for?”</p><p> </p><p>“For letting me in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up.” He lowered his head as he scratched the back of his neck with his free hand and she snickered at the tips of his ears turning red.</p><p> </p><p>“You know what,” she said mischievously as she removed her arm from his and skipped a few steps ahead, then turned to him with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face, “Yup. Let’s get you that hot surgeon.”</p><p> </p><p>She cackled as she whirled around and ran the rest of the way to the ward, leaving him a very flustered and spluttering mess.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed this. If you haven't noticed already, this should let you know I'm a painfully awkward person in real life.<br/>Please let me know your thoughts, your reviews do make my day.<br/>I'm sorry about the long periods of nothingness but real life's not playing fair.</p><p>And as always, stay safe and happy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Favors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to post this. Between real life commitments, school and what's happening in the real world, it was hard to take the time and write something down. Now that I actually did, I feel much better. </p><p>Thank you for sticking with me this far and I hope you enjoy this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kid was there the first time Killer had seen his face. It was the next day after he and Bonney visited; they gave him a small mirror after the nurses removed his dressings. Kid himself was unfazed; being an avid boxer he has seen his fair share of bruises and was almost always covered in them, not to mention he couldn’t even remember what his nose looked like before it was broken years ago. What <em>did</em> make him flinch was Killer’s stone-cold reaction to it. The nurse had likely sensed her patient went very still and his visitor very tense and decided it’s best to leave them alone ‘to maybe let your wounds breathe’ and scurried away, leaving the curtains drawn. Kid made a mental note to buy her a box of chocolate when they get out of there.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow. You’d think with all that wrapping they would have given you a new face, huh?” He cringed at his own feeble attempt at humor. Killer didn’t seem to have heard him and if he did, he showed no sign of it as he stared blankly into the mirror.</p><p> </p><p>“Kill?” he tried again when the other never replied, giving his shoulder a gentle shake, “Yo, Killer.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine.” He croaked as he slowly put the mirror face down on the small side table.</p><p> </p><p>Kid was getting more anxious as he watched the other’s free hand clutch at the white bed sheets, turning his knuckles pale. He wasn’t sure what to do or say to make things better or at least not fuck them up more.</p><p> </p><p>“Well it could have been worse,” Kid frantically started, “Could’ve got your eye poked out or your back broken or your heart could have stopped or—”</p><p> </p><p>“I said, I’m fine.”</p><p> </p><p>He did shut up then, more startled by the other’s outburst than anything else. Killer <em>never</em> yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, good to know.”</p><p> </p><p>They turned at the same time to Bonney, who just swatted the blue curtains away. Kid’s red eyes darted between the two of them, thinking this could end up very, very badly while Killer went ram rod straight and was watching his girlfriend like a tightly coiled, feral cat waiting to bolt. Or attack.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Or both. </span></p><p>She simply dragged the orange chair closer to Killer, placed a chaste kiss near the corner of his bruised, sutured lip, making him flinch. She sat down and primly crossed her legs as if she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and this was their usual day and no one was having any internal crises of any kind.</p><p> </p><p>Kid took one look at Killer’s face, his hand shaking as he watched Bonney like he was seeing her the very first time and excused himself for a lunch break, squeezing his friend’s shoulder as he made his way to the restaurant. He has come to understand that at this moment, Killer needed something a little different than what he could offer and Bonney had it in spades. That was okay; this wasn’t about him and he would always be there for Killer and he knew it, too.</p><p> </p><p>When he got back from his lunch, a stroll around the hospital and two cups of coffee almost two hours later, he found the curtains still drawn around Killer’s bed. He could see from the small gap that Bonney curled up at his side and was laughing at whatever she was showing him on her phone as her boyfriend absent-mindedly petted her hair, his face bruised and swollen, still bare of bandages.</p><p> </p><p>Kid took a few steps back and coughed before approaching the bed space again and pulling the curtains aside, careful not to spill their drinks: honey ginger for Killer, caramel macchiato with every topping they had for Bonney. They both glanced his way and Bonney zeroed in on the nauseatingly sweet drink in his hand before reaching for it and cuddling into her boyfriend’s side once more.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you’re fucking welcome.” The redhead snorted. She completely ignored him.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” The blond said, a shadow of a smile on his face as Kid carefully handed him his hot drink and pushed the small bedside table closer. He shook him off, understanding this was his way of smoothing over his earlier outburst.</p><p> </p><p>Their little moment was interrupted when Bonney sat up, setting her Diabetes-in-a-cup on the table.</p><p> </p><p>“So, old man Zeff wants to visit.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Killer has been adamant he wanted to work for Zeff the second he and Kid set foot in Flevance. He had relentlessly badgered the old man for a job until he ‘gave in’ and agreed. At first he worked on cleaning and waiting duty in the evenings as part-time after Culinary School, then at nights wouldstudy with Sanji, who was a year ahead of him and had been with Zeff the longest, his nephews aside. Zeff later on offered him an internship at the Baratie and finally a job when he graduated, which Killer accepted before he even finished his sentence or discussed his paycheck.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the fact that Kill has always been cagey about their past in the orphanage and would either answer any questions about it briefly or none at all; Kid, who would sometimes take up part-time jobs as delivery boy or cleaning duty at Baratie, had a distinct feeling Zeff had known or at least had some idea about their history. He had been quite intimidated by the imposing, stern, old sailor with a fake leg the first few times he had seen him when he went along with Killer. At the time, he reminded him of hulking men from his home town with breath reeking of alcohol and filth and bruised, fat fists dripping blood from cheap belts and nail bats.</p><p> </p><p>But then Zeff offered them and every other homeless person that knocked on his door the same food he offered his VIP guests whenever they came around. He would put it on ‘their tab’ when they said they had no money to pay him back. He would swear and yell at them whenever they slacked off at work or when Kid was too late for a delivery and add on to what they owed him, but would drape soft blankets around their shoulders when they fell asleep at work and were too tired to make it home. He gave them jobs when they needed the money and when they finally offered to pay him back with their first paychecks for his food and endless generosity, he would tell them he had forgotten the mountain of money they owe him and that of course he would demand it back whenever he remembered.</p><p>
  
</p><p>In short, Zeff was the closest thing to a father figure they never had.</p><p> </p><p>So when Bonney called him that night to let him know that Killer would <em>love</em> for them to visit, Kid could hear the old man snort as he drove her home from the hospital.</p><p> </p><p>“No, he doesn’t have a concussion anymore.” she rolled her eyes, “I’m not making it up, Zeff. You can come whenever. Yes, the boys can come too.Yeah, right. Whatever. Night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Should I give the nurses heads up that they need to soundproof the place?” the redhead smirked.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha fucking ha.” she huffed as she stuffed her phone into her tiny pink messenger bag, “He’s coming tomorrow and bringing the others. <em>‘Don’t care to see his pansy ass in a hospital bed’</em> my ass.” She quoted in a mock-growling imitation of her boss.</p><p> </p><p>Kid was the one to call him after the accident and the man had demanded two hourly updates that night and every day since until Bonney was discharged and Killer woke up. As irritable and worried as he was at that time himself, Kid was grateful for the distraction and having someone to talk to helped him stay focused and quit panicking.</p><p> </p><p>“What time?”</p><p> </p><p>“Noonish. They’re leaving Carne and Patty in the kitchen and everyone else is coming.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Kid,” he gave her a quick glance to let her know he’s listening, “Think he’ll be okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Kid said, stopping at the red light ahead. He turned to look at her; her face was scrunched up in worry that seeped into her voice, making her sound smaller, so different from the loud, devil-may-care woman he knew. He hated it. “Kill’s tough and we’ve been through worse. We’ll be okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>They stayed in comfortable silence the rest of the way. Kid pulled over at the front door of her apartment building.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, see ya tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bonney.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?”</p><p> </p><p>She was startled as she suddenly found her self wrapped up into a bear hug. Slightly confused, she patted his broad back a couple of times. “Kid?”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>She huffed a smile and ruffled his already wild mane. <em>Boys.</em></p><p> </p><p>They broke apart seconds after that, with him fiddling with his keychain as she exited the car, still smiling at his profile. He watched her as she waved over her shoulder and disappeared into her building, before he pulled out and drove home.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Killer, whose face was once again wrapped with clean bandages was now stable enough to leave the ward and walk around with little support from Kid. Earlier that week, the nurses on the surgery ward had suggested that Killer spend sometime with their visitors at the coffeeshop so he could stretch his legs and get some change of scenery. They all thought it was a good idea, especially Killer who hated hospital beds with a burning passion by that point and was bored out of his skull already. He was allowed to wear his usual clothes -a dotted black shirt and jeans that Bonney brought from home as he was off the ward, something he was deeply grateful for.</p><p> </p><p>They took up a couch in the corner and two tables at the small, cheerful space; one of which was almost entirely covered with gift boxes, Get-Well cards and flowers. Killer and Bonney sat together at one end, occasionally holding hands and bumping knees under the table.</p><p> </p><p>Kid wanted to <em>gag</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Having worked at Baratie years ago and constantly hanging out there because of Killer, he knew everyone that worked there and was on fairly friendly terms with them, Zeff aside. The old man was filling them in on one of Sanji’s fails last week. The blond man in question largely ignored Zeff and was irritably chewing his third nicotine gum since he’s sat down twenty minutes ago as he typed something on his phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it just the hospital or did your missus finally whip you into quitting?” Kid snickered.</p><p> </p><p>“Get lost.” He scowled at Kid as he put his phone back on the table. </p><p> </p><p>His grin widened. Sanji was always great to tease, especially when it came to Zoro. The blond used to worship women, almost constantly flirted with them, offered them free drinks and had tirelessly campaigned for Ladies’ Night in Baratie solely to hit on them —which turned out to be a surprisingly brilliant idea, now that it is one of the top things to do in Flevance. Now that he lives with Zoro, a newly-promoted Special Unit police officer and his partner for the past five years, he has toned the flirting down considerably.</p><p> </p><p>Kid had been bewildered (and not that he would ever admit it at gunpoint, more than a little aroused) when he had first walked in on them making out all those years ago in Baratie’s mens room one night after closing hours. Zoro’s shirt was somewhere on the floor, exposing his rippling muscles and raw strength underneath and he was almost ripping open Sanji's, who was essentially dry humping his thigh while holding his face still in a heated kiss. They all froze, Kid blinked, told them hoarsely to get a room, walked back out and helpfully put up the wet floor sign at the entrance as he left. Sanji texted him about it later on, asking if they were okay and that they would appreciate it if he kept it to himself and Kid replied that he had no idea what he was talking about. That day Sanji was manning the bar, so Kid wore his pride bracelet prominently on display and got a ‘thank you’ on his coffee cup. He never mentioned it to anyone until they went public when Killer came home three weeks after that and told him the two announced they were hooking up.Turned out what he thought was pure hatred was just raw sexual tension, or whatever these two were doing and in retrospect, it made sense somehow.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s Zoro?” Killer asked, putting an end to Kid's internal musings.</p><p> </p><p>“Ask him yourself,” Sanji replied, checking his phone, “He’s on his way here from work.”</p><p> </p><p>Kid was relieved that Killer seemed to be actually enjoying himself. He had been worried about him the day before and wasn’t sure if having visitors would be a good idea or if it would just make his friend more self-conscious. He supposed all’s well that ends well. He excused himself for a toilet run as Cavendish, Zeff and Killer were discussing the football game of the night before while Sanji was chewing on his sixth gum as he showed Bonney pictures from the art show he attended a while back.</p><p> </p><p>He looked up and waved frantically at someone across the atrium. Bonney glanced in that direction and sure enough, there was Zoro making his way in confident strides to the back of the hospital without a second glance at the <em>very clear </em>sign above their small coffeeshop. She laughed as Sanji swore under his breath at his boyfriend’s utter lack of mental maps as he rose from the table, muttering about fetching him before he ended up on the obstetric ward. She was about to go with him for lack of better things to do before she saw the green haired man stop and talk to someone.</p><p> </p><p>She almost didn’t recognize him, now that he was out of his customary scrubs and was in a navy blue shirt and black suit pants, his jacket draped over his arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, yeah.” Sanji said, “I forgot Law works here.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned to the blond, surprised. “You know him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. He’s Luffy’s cousin.”</p><p> </p><p>“Luffy. The name rings a bell…”She narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember where she heard it before.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a captain in the fire brigade.” He said as he sat back down, apparently satisfied law would be able to point out their location, “Remember when some punks tried to set the restaurant on fire couple of years ago?” she nodded slowly, “His division was first on the scene. They put it down and he rushed the place and saved a Kid who was trapped inside.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah.” She vaguely remembered the headlines from that day and Cavendish’s frantic account of it, having been on her day off. “Zeff has that page from the paper on the wall.”</p><p> </p><p>Cavendish nodded. “He wanted to give him a free pass but ended up giving him a life-long 50% discount so we don’t go bankrupt, the way he inhales food.”</p><p>Now that she thought about it, Bonney remembered seeing him around once or twice. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that she heard that name in a different context lately, but couldn’t remember where.</p><p> </p><p>“He is also a close friend of Zoro’s; they met ages ago and they still hang out a lot whenever they could. Some times Luffy brings one of his brothers or Law along on outings. The guy practically befriended half of the city already.” Sanji huffed fondly, waving again at Zoro who was practically escorted by the surgeon to where they were sat, this time noticing him and casually waving back. “How do <em>you</em> know Law?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s the guy that found us on the road that night.” Sanji’s eyes widened and now Zeff was looking their way too, “He called the ambulance and came back after his shift to operate on Killer.”</p><p> </p><p>“I should probably get him something,” Killer chimed in, “He practically saved my life.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can try.” Sanji shrugged when the couple turned to him, “I only met him a couple of times. He’s a cool guy and all, a little bit cynical but he's okay. He just doesn’t strike me as the type to chummy up to strangers.”</p><p> </p><p>Bonney was lost in thought as she stared at the empty chair where Kid left his coffee mug before she nodded to herself and turned to Zeff and Sanji, thousand watt smile in place and her voice suspiciously honey-sweet, “So, I had this <em>amazing</em> idea…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you liked that chapter at all, please let me know in the comments. I promise I will try to post as frequently as I can. </p><p>Thank you once again for reading this far. As always, hope you stay happy and healthy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Recovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings for a very tiny little bit of blood mention and angst.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Traffic was generally light at half past ten in the morning, something Law was eternally grateful for as he drove back home from the hospital. He had just finished another set of intense nightshifts and was looking forward to his upcoming week of well-earned leave. He had the radio on as he drove, not really listening to whatever was on but simply grateful for some noise to keep him awake along with the intense aroma from the steaming coffee mug at his side.</p><p>He stopped at the red light and thought back on the previous couple of weeks. The operations he needed to add in his logbook, as well as the particularly interesting ones he attended and assisted in. As he mentally went through the jobs of last night to double check he had done them all, which he had, the elegant green lettering on the light pistachio sign across the road caught his eyes: <em>Monet</em>.</p><p>Law glanced down at his own coffee mug with disdain and seriously considered going for a real cup of coffee. He found his thoughts wandering back to the short-lived conversation about that particular coffee shop with a bulky red-head in the hospital’s cafeteria and groaned.</p><p>Last week, in that very same cafeteria, after he had walked Zoro to Killer’s table— how someone could be a police officer and entirely without any sense of direction was beyond him— Sanji politely introduced the surgeon to the rest of Killer’s visitors. Zeff, unlike Kid, wouldn’t let him leave until he had Law checking his schedule and giving him a date and time he -and his guests- would be available for a dinner party when Killer gets discharged by the end of the week, as thanks for rescuing the couple.</p><p>Law had valiantly tried to refuse such a generous offer from the older (and in Law’s person opinion, very intimidating) man, but Zeff wouldn’t budge. Then Killer and Bonney -who was suddenly looking far too excited for some reason- told him it would mean a lot to them if he would accept and Law, awkward as he was, was too flustered and uncomfortable by this point that he blurted his grudging acceptance of their invitation just to get out of there. He stormed out just as Kid was coming in and nodded at him as he left, vaguely registering the other’s confused expression or Bonney singsong the redhead’s name.</p><p>He got a call from an elated Luffy two nights ago while he was on-call to let him know that Zoro and Sanji had invited him and Nami to the dinner party at the Baratie.</p><p>
  <em>“Zoro said you’re coming too!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Well, I don’t—”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Come on, Traffy! You work too hard and Lami said you have the whole week off anyway— actually, why don’t you bring Lami too? We would have SO much fun!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Luff—”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Awesome! I gotta go now but let’s meet up at your parents place at seven and go together! Bye, Traffy!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He tiredly rubbed his eyes as the traffic lights turned back to green, allowing him to drive home. In all fairness, he appreciated Zoro’s gesture in inviting Luffy along to make him more comfortable. Law was certainly not a party person himself and having someone he knew would definitely make the affair much less stressful; let alone if that ‘someone’ was Luffy, who could make <em>anyone</em> feel at ease.</p><p>He originally thought he would apologize, then thought better of it and decided to go alone, seeing as he wasn’t that keen to go himself. But now that Luffy had mentioned it, it wasn't actually such a bad idea at all. He called Lami the next morning on his way home and <em>of course </em>she was more than happy to be his plus one. Hearing her happy squeals on the phone at the prospect of a night out banished the last thought of not wanting to go from his head.</p><p>As he entered his apartment, Law let his bag unceremoniously drop to the floor as he blearily locked up his front door before he took few steps forward and stumbled face-first onto his couch. Poor Bepo barely had time to jump off and onto the floor, where he hissed at the offending human, who was now occupying <em>his</em> spot, dead to the world.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>He was standing in the green-tiled bathroom, in front of the square mirror above the sink in nothing but a fluffy yellow towel around his waist. He held a straight razor in his hand, his grip strong on the wooden handle as he stared blankly at his scarred reflection, now concealed with shaving foam and unruly hair, then at the gleaming blade. Small drops of blood rolled off it and down the drain from where he accidentally cut himself.</p><p>The soft sigh from the doorway got his attention, where Bonney leaned against the door frame in her pajamas.</p><p>“The scars,” Killer explained, his green eyes finding hers in the mirror as he washed the sharp blade off, “They keep catching.”</p><p>It took her a few seconds before she wordlessly went out. He curiously cocked his head out of the threshold as she came back with one of the dinner table’s chairs which she placed in the middle of the bathroom.</p><p>“Sit.” She said as she turned and left the bathroom, clearly expecting to be obeyed. He slowly did, confused as he was. She came back with a bowel, filled half way with warm water which she placed on top of the small stool next to the bathtub and he understood what she wanted to do.</p><p>“Bonney,” He said as he made to get up, “You don’t have to—”</p><p>“Yes.” She put a firm hand on his chest, “I do. I want to.” She carefully took the razor from his left hand as she straddled him, his right coming up to lightly grab her slim waist, her weight anything but painful. She balanced the razor on the warm bowl, then brought the clean face towel to his face, dabbing gently at the small cut on his cheek from where he injured himself, her other hand on his neck, holding him in place.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> He silently moved his head however she directed him, his eyes fixed on her face as she brought the sharp edge back to his jaw.</span></p><p>He had felt naked, the very first time she saw him without his bandages. Exposed in a raw, deep way that had nothing to do with clothes.</p><p>They had had to shave some of his hair on the left side to stitch the skin of his scalp. There were several small cuts and scars on his face, but the worst of those ran from the left side of his scalp, an inch past his hairline and straight down to his neck. The other went from his chin to his right ear, forming an X with another running across his now broken nose to the angle of his jaw. The surgeon -Ikkaku?- had told him his skin was the only thing harmed, that he was lucky his eyes and internal organs are unharmed and none of the important nerves are severed. He told her they will have to agree to disagree on their definition of ‘lucky’.</p><p>He hated his own reflection. He couldn’t bear looking at the mirror in the hospital. He knew on some level that it shouldn’t matter to him, that it didn’t really matter to the people who mattered the most to <em>him</em>: Kid wouldn’t care less if he sprouted horns and Bonney…</p><p>He really should have given Bonney more credit.</p><p>Maybe it was the fact that all his ‘relationships’ up to this point were purely physical, maybe it was because this relationship didn’t meet many challenges until this point, maybe it was his own deep-rooted abandonment issues that he tried so fucking hard to bury or maybe it was because Bonney never seemed to care about jack and would take absolutely zero shit from anyone. Whatever it was, he thought this was it: this was end game for the two of them and she would leave the second she saw him, that it was too much for her to deal with.</p><p>She didn’t.</p><p>Sitting in the bathroom of her -their- small apartment with his arms loosely around the small of her back, Killer could only rest his head back and let her hands guide him as she as he stared at the small crease between her pink brows, her intense blue eyes and her tongue peaking out in concentration as she carefully glided the unforgiving metal across his jaw, her short puffs of breath teasing the side of his neck. He absently thought that if she so much as twitched to the side he could bleed to his death, yet his more sadistic thoughts were drowned by the firm touch of her hand.</p><p>Bonney was safe.</p><p>She leaned to the side to dab the razor in warm water, unaware of the dark storm in his head and he couldn’t help himself as he tightened his grip on her and brought his chapped lips to hers.</p><p>He could faintly hear the razor plop into the water bowel as he brought a hand up to pull her closer while she held his half-shaven face in her hands and kissed him back with the same vigor he felt. There was a lot he wanted to say- a tangled mess of thoughts in his head with her in the centre of it all that he tried to pour into her lips, he held on to her as if he was drowning and the only air was in her lung. Maybe she understood as she grabbed him tighter, running her deft fingers through his long hair as her other hand kneaded at his naked back.</p><p>They haven’t been intimate since the accident, a month ago. They were still in recovery and Killer, who was discharged only last week, was specifically instructed to not strain himself and Bonney's arm has just come out of her obnoxious pink cast so they were content with hugs and fleeting affectionate touches here and there, or so they told themselves. They both knew that wasn’t why Killer changed in the bathroom and why he wouldn’t let her change his dressings. Why she would wake up to a cold pillow and find him fully dressed and on his way out.</p><p>They eventually had to stop for air and she touched her forehead to his, careful not to lean too heavily on his scar. They stayed quietly like this for a while more, simply basking in each other’s presence, kisses and touches.</p><p>Scars were the very last thing on Killer’s mind.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Law was in a pretty good mood and felt human enough just in time for the Baratie dinner invitation after a good night (and late into the next day) sleep, a hot shower and some quiet time alone to de-stress. He dressed casually; light designer jeans, cobalt blue button-up shirt and a black coat. He left his car behind since they were going with Luffy and Nami and arrived earlier to spend some time with his family before dinner. Lami gave him an earful for his long absences and crazy work schedule but she got over it pretty quickly.</p><p>It wasn’t long before Luffy arrived with Nami and his sister immediately whisked the redhead to her room so they can get ready. Law quietly followed Luffy who had made a beeline to the living room where he sat on the floor, already had the Wii turned on, picked Donkey Kong and was ready to start.</p><p>Law plopped down beside the younger man and tried to fight down the strong pangs of nostalgia he felt bubbling up. It has been a long time since they did this and he hasn’t realized he missed it until he was sitting in this exact spot, picked Yoshi and was mashing his controller’s buttons to get the upper hand. Mario Kart used to be their thing— his and Luffy’s. The Wii was a gift from Law’s parents and Luffy bought the game with his allowance years ago. They played all the time, whenever they wanted to celebrate or needed the distraction. He supposed Luffy must have felt the same, if his sideways grin was anything to go by.</p><p>They talked about random things, like Luffy’s latest missions and Law’s weirdest extractions. Law showed him the picture of Bepo napping on a sleeping Lami on his couch and Luffy showed him the short video Marco sent him last week of Marshall, the German Shepherd they rescued on a mission, licking a very giggly Ace’s face as he tried -and failed- to get off the floor. All the while they mashed the buttons of their controllers as they kept track of who was winning.</p><p>They played until the two girls came back. Nami had a knee-length warm white dress and a red coat to match Luffy’s dress-shirt while Lami went with a forest green frilly dress and her favorite yellow coat and had a small bag packed with a change of clothes to spend the night at Law’s. They said their goodbyes to their parents and drove off to Baratie in Nami’s car.</p><p>It was a nice ride. Nami had the radio on some music channel for background noise while they talked. Luffy was practically drooling next to her at the thought of food while she was just elated that it’s free.</p><p>“I heared you helped two of their top chefs, Law.” Nami said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.</p><p> </p><p>“I was just doing my job.” came the tired reply.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think driving back to work after your shift ends to save their lives was in your job description.” Luffy chimed in.</p><p> </p><p>“It isn’t,” Law scowled, “and I don’t suppose beating thugs up after dark is in a yours, yet here we are.”</p><p> </p><p>“They were ganging up on Nami and her sister!”</p><p> </p><p>“And those two would have bled to death.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well <em>those two </em>are definitely grateful anyway,” Nami cut in, a dainty eyebrow quirked at the surgeon, “Doing your job or not, they think they’re still around because of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know them, Nami?” Lami quickly asked as she ‘accidentally’ poked her brother in the ribs before he can say something stupid.</p><p> </p><p>Nami nodded, “Bonney is Noji’s friend, we don’t talk much but we know each other so we went to visit her when she was out of the hospital.” She looked up and met Law’s gaze, “I know she was really worried her boyfriend wouldn’t make it. So even if you were just doing your job, they’re alive because of you and they’re grateful. So just take it.”</p><p> </p><p>Law was just about to respond just as his sister and Luffy simultaneously announced they’ve arrived. He looked at Lami who was pointedly looking at him and sighed. Nami parked by the corner and they all got off. Law eyed the ‘closed’ sign where it hung over the blackboard that announced today’s special cuisine: Riverian.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span class="Apple-converted-space">Good. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zeff was standing near the entrance to greet them, wearing his pristine head Chef clothes and a long chef's hat.</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” He glanced down at his gold pocket watch and nodded approvingly, “Welcome to Baratie!”</p><p> </p><p>“Aaaaah! I smell meat!” Luffy happily skipped in, “Hey old man!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey yourself.” Zeff gruntled back, “Come on in, the table is this way.”</p><p> </p><p>They heard the rapid clicks of dress shoes before the man himself turned from the corner in his black tuxedo and blue shirt. “Ah, my sweet, fair ladies! Please come on in from the cold night!” Sanji exclaimed, “Miss Nami, your beauty is radiant as always! And who is this beautiful blooming rose?”</p><p> </p><p>“This is my sister, Lami.” Law said, “Lami, this is San-.”</p><p> </p><p>"Sanji Blackleg," the blond interrupted, going down on one knee before he lightly kissed her extended hand, making her blush to the roots of her hair, “Enchante, ma cherie. Please, call me Sanji.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” she said, flustered and more than a little confused, “pleasure to meet you, Sanji.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sanji,” Nami laughed as she took off her coat and followed Luffy into the restaurant at a more sedate pace, “leave Lami alone. If the poor girl blushed any harder she’ll go up in flames.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, please!” He exclaimed sweetly, all smiles, “Allow me to help you with your coats.”</p><p> </p><p>“What about us?” Law incredulously pointed at himself and Luffy.</p><p> </p><p>“Coat room’s this way.” He nodded at the room where he was heading without so much as a glance to them, his voice a stark contrast to the sweet, melodious tone he used with the girls. Law snorted.</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” Zeff rolled his eyes, “if we’re done with comedy club here, your table is this way.”</p><p> </p><p>He lead the way into his restaurant. From the inside, it was much more spacious than outsiders would expect. The walls were painted in cozy peach and cream colors with several plants decorating the large area, small flower vases sat on top of the tables and the floor was a warm well-varnished wood. Law and Lami have been there several times already, so they were surprised to see some changes to the usual layout. Namely, the tables have been moved to the edges of the room while four tables were pushed together in the middle to form one large dinner table.</p><p> </p><p>Law couldn’t say he was particularly surprised to see that the it was already partly occupied.</p><p> </p><p>Near the one end of the table sat Killer and Bonney. Killer had his hair down, cascading in shaggy strands over his shoulders, the blond a stark contrast to his purple shirt. He was holding Bonney’s hand as she leaned on his shoulder and took slow sips from her glass of water. She wore a bright green jumper over a black leather mini-skirt. They looked good, much healthier and happier than the last time Law had seen them and a small part of him couldn’t help but feel proud of his work. He quickly shook the thought away.</p><p>A couple of chairs down was Zoro, who was looking sharp in a black suit with his top buttons undone as he nursed a bottle of beer. On the opposite side of the table, directly in front of Killer was their redhead friend from before -Kid, Law reminded himself- who was laughing at something Killer said, the sound loud and ringing.</p><p>They stopped talking as Luffy spotted Zoro and immediately sat beside him, waving at Nami and gesturing at the seat between him and Bonney, who grinned at her with and waved with the hand that wasn't in Killer's. The other occupants of the table looked up at their smaller group as they approached.</p><p>“Right,” Zeff stood by Law and gestured around the table, “So you already know Killer and Bonney, two of my best chefs who still work for me, thanks to you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Aw, we love ya too, ya grumpy old man.” Bonney sweetly said while Killer snorted at her side.</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever. You met my eggplant of a sous chef, Sanji. Zoro is a police officer and was kind enough to take him off my hands part-time.”</p><p> </p><p>Zoro raised his beer at Zeff while Sani’s middle finger twitched at his side and gnashed his nicotine gum harder as he smirked back at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Luffy’s a fireman, he hosed down the restaurant when some punk lit it up on fire and is the main reason our accountant ages fifty years and we almost go bankrupt every time he pops in.” Law quirked an eyebrow at Luffy, who just laughed. He would have to grill him for more details on that later.</p><p>The latter pulled his girlfriend to him, “This is Nami, she’s an editor and a model and my girlfriend!” he proudly exclaimed, all smiles and his grin got even wider when she loudly smooched him on the cheek.</p><p>“I knew it!” Bonney said from her other side, “Noj did tell me about ya right before the accident. Sorry it took a while to click in.”</p><p> </p><p>“How dare you!” Nami gasped in mock offense, making the other woman laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“This is Eustass, he is an engineer. You probably ran into him at the hospital.” Killer spoke for the first time, not wanting his friend to be left out, “He’s my brother. I know he talks big but he doesn’t bite. Usually.”</p><p> </p><p>Law did remember him. He smirked at the redhead whose red gaze hasn’t moved from him since he entered the room. “We’ve met.”</p><p> </p><p>“That we did.” The man in question grinned back.</p><p> </p><p>Zeff cleared his throat and looked at Law expectantly.</p><p> </p><p>“Trafalgar Law, I’m a surgery resident.” He unlinked his arm from Lami’s iron grip to instead wrap it around her shoulders, “This is Lami, my sister. She’s an interior designer. Luffy’s our cousin.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, then, what are we waiting for? Have a seat, relax and enjoy!” Zeff exclaimed as he went to take his seat at the other end of the table, near Zoro. The arrangement left only two empty chairs next to Kid, who was fiercely scowling at his phone for some reason before Law could hear it lock and disappear into the coat hanging limply over his chair.</p><p>He pulled a chair for Lami next to him and directly opposite Luffy so she would be able to talk to him and Nami in case he couldn’t. He sat next to Kid, unaware of the murderous energy coming off of the redhead at Bonney who just winked discreetly at the redhead.</p><p>
  <em>This was going to be a long night.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Kid tried very hard to remind himself why murder is bad.</p><p> </p><p>Bonney was trying to set him up. She was trying to set him up with Killer’s doctor. Killer’s doctor who was not only stuck up, but was extremely unlikely to be gay or interested in him in anyway, shape or form.</p><p>He had been suspicious of the whole thing from the beginning. He should have followed his hunch when alarm bells started ringing in his head the second they told him there was a dinner party and he saw her borderline psychotic grin. Those same alarm bells intensified when he arrived a couple of hours ago in Baratie and she sized him up and down then nodded to herself and insisted he sits on the other side ‘so they could talk’.</p><p>
  <em>Nosy bitch.</em>
</p><p>When Law’s party entered the main restaurant, he zeroed in him. He couldn't explain why, but he had somewhat of a morbid curiosity when it came to the surgeon. The man was had a resting poker face that didn't seem likely to crack. Even now, away from the hospital and surrounded by his friends, at a dinner that was practically a gift for him, he looks bored and tired as fuck. He was quiet and mysterious and Kid was a sucker for mysteries and puzzles. He almost felt bad for his pretty little girlfriend hanging onto his arm like a koala. He almost managed to entirely ignore the disappointment he felt at the thought and almost missed Law introducing the little twerp as his sister.</p><p><em>Almost</em>.</p><p>Perhaps it was all the never-ending stress of the past month and all the work that backlogged in his office that he now had to catch up on, perhaps it had been a long time since his last hookup and he didn't like taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, or perhaps it was a fucking pink-haired little she-devil that planted the idea in his head and now it latched into his brain and won’t leave him alone— perhaps it was all of it and more, but Kid would be bullshitting himself if he said he wasn’t at least interested in Killer’s doctor. <em>Killer’s very attractive doctor.</em></p><p>His thoughts skidded to a halt as he felt his phone vibrate in his back-pocket. He unlocked it to view his new text and nearly hurled the phone across the table.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Bonzilla: Good luck! ;) &lt;eggplant emoji&gt;</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fuck it, murder was looking more appealing by the second.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this was a long time coming. Thank you for holding on to this crazy little ride of a plot with me and reading this far. Good old Rona wasn't very kind to me and it took some good weeks to recover and not 100% either.</p><p>So please, look after yourselves and stay safe.</p><p>As always, enjoy and let me know what you think.</p><p>Happy New Year.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Dinner Table</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I think my muse has a bit of ADHD and is currently feeling a bit more productive, and I thought I would make up for my long break. So here's the next chapter :)!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Baratie had a different feel to it now that it was just their group sat at one large dinner table, cool jazzy music playing in the background and the delicious aroma of warm, fresh food wafting from the kitchen. Zeff had sat down next to Zoro while Sanji and one other butler went to grab the menus for everyone, or in Sanji’s case ‘his beautiful swans’. He then left to prepare their orders and send someone back with drinks and appetizers. Luffy asked him to stay but Zeff told the younger man that he had let everyone go home for the night and as their hosts, Sanji and a couple of other chefs stayed behind to prepare their dinner. “This is a personal gift, not just a dinner.” The old man had said.</p><p>Lively conversations had started the second they all sat down, everyone was engaged in one way or another and even Law, introverted as he was, chimed in every now and then with something to say, mostly when Lami bounced a question at him. Sanji had served their dinner with the other waiter then sat himself at the empty chair next to his boyfriend, who put down his beer bottle with a little more force than necessary.</p><p>“Did you just…? Are you having a stroke Zeff?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sanji, tell this asshole who’s winning this season.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey now, mind your language. There are ladies around,” the blond warned as he rolled up his sleeves and poured himself some wine, then looked sideways at Zoro, “And as much as I hate to admit it, old man’s right.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then you’ve both lost your minds,” Zoro retorted as he sipped more beer, “Sane people don’t say that shit with a straight face.”</p><p> </p><p>“And I’ll say it again;” Zeff filled his own glass with water as he stubbornly stared the other man down, “Titans are winning the nationals this year.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t believe this,” Zoro shot back incredulously, “You two do realize Sina has both Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman playing, all season?”</p><p> </p><p>“And the Titans have Yeager,” Sanji said as he popped a nicotine gum into his mouth, followed by a sip of his wine, “and Braun, and Hoover, and Galliard. The whole team’s ace, Zoro, not a one-man-band.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s it, we’re over.” Zoro said as he threw an arm around Sanji’s shoulders and squeezed him close. The latter muttered ‘you wish’ under his breath and rested his hand on the police officer’s knee, both of them used to sharp tongues and stupid jabs. He turned to Zeff, who was rolling his eyes at them and drinking more water, “Hundred bucks Sina’s winning, two hundred Levi gets in a least two slam dunks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ain’t my fault you don’t know basketball, kid” Zeff shot back as took Zoro’s hand and gave it a firm shake, sealing their deal.</p><p> </p><p>At his side, Sanji was still sipping his wine in one hand as he absentmindedly petted his boyfriend’s knee with the other while he watched everyone at the table, trying to judge if they like their food and checking if they need any refills. Luffy was stuffing his face with an entire mutton leg as he yelled something across the table at Kid, who was pouring an obscene amount of tabasco <em>and</em> chili sauce over his fried chicken. Sanji winced as he thought of how spicy that would undoubtedly taste and made a mental note to sneak ice cream into whatever dessert the redhead orders. Next to Luffy, Nami was animatedly talking to Bonney about her latest travels and her upcoming ones as she cut her orange-seared duck into smaller pieces. The pink-haired chef nodded back as she had her usual pizza. She rarely orders anything else, so Sanji only needed to ask her what toppings she wanted on her pizza (everything). Next to her, Killer was quietly slurping his Kitsune Udon, occasionally dropping in and out of conversation with Kid or Bonney.</p><p>Next to Kid, Law seemed to be enjoying his own meal at a more sedate pace and mostly in silence. Sanji watched him cut a piece of his sea bass, drizzle a little Hollandaise sauce on top and put it into his sister’s plate. She grinned at him and scooped a small heap of her couscous with a piece of lamb and sauce on top and put it on his. She took one small bite of the fish and Sanji was caught staring when she immediately turned to him, all smiles. </p><p>“Sanji!” She exclaimed and he couldn’t help but grin back at her, “Mr Zeff, this is really delicious! Thank you so much!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, you flatter me, ma cherie.” he leaned forward and cooed at her, “I’m glad you like it. The fish is my personal recipe but your taguine is the old man’s work.”</p><p> </p><p>“Damn straight.” Zeff snorted at him before he winked at her, “Anytime, kiddo. There’s plenty in the kitchen if you would like more.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s so good,” she blushed, “but I honestly don’t think I can eat more and I would hate for it to go to waste. Thank you for the kind offer.”</p><p> </p><p>Zeff smiled at her before he turned at his sous chef, “Oi, why don’t you and the other brats have such great manners?”</p><p> </p><p>Sanji snorted, “Seeing as I was practically raised by you, you tell me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Boys,” Bonney whistled at them, before Zeff who now sported a very red face could retort, “None of that at the dinner table, remember?”</p><p> </p><p>“You guys are funny!” Luffy giggled around his mouthful of food.</p><p> </p><p>“At least it’s free entertainment.” Kidd muttered at Law, who was watching the exchange.</p><p> </p><p>“Agreed.”, the surgeon said before he went back to his food. He had to give it to Zeff though, the explosion of flavor in Lami’s taguine was very nice and exotic, unlike anything he has eaten before.</p><p> </p><p>“So Lami,” Bonney started now that the excitement from earlier died down, “You’re an interior designer, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” the younger woman said, daintily putting her fork and knife down, “I have only just started a couple of months ago, but yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cool,” the other said as she bit into her pizza, “which company? We’ve kinda been thinking of redecoratin’ our apartment for a while.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, sure! I work at Water 7, Co.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ha!” Kidd let out a barking laugh, before he turned to her and raised his fists to the side, “How’s old Franky? Still <em>super fresh</em>?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“He pretty much is, yeah.” she giggled at his pretty close impression of her boss’s catchphrase and pose, “That’s a really good impression. How do you know him?”</p><p> </p><p>“He was a legend in collage,” Kid grinned, “Total wizard with tools. He would make those crazy creative designs of his and then would make models and prototypes and eventually the real thing. No one could believe all that genius was coming out of this weird kid who couldn’t dress himself. I think he was doing his final year when I was just a freshman. We used to be tight that year before we lost contact and each went his separate ways. Last I heard he established Water 7 and was doing quite well for himself.” He turned to Killer, “Remember Franky? I told ya about him ages ago? ”</p><p> </p><p>The other appeared thoughtful, “Isn’t that the eccentric dude who wore Hawaiian shirts and drank cola all the time?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, yeah!” Kid guffawed at that, slamming his hand on the table, “He still wears those weird shirts and really, <em>really</em> tight shorts?”</p><p> </p><p>“He still has a er… questionable sense of fashion,” Lami nodded. They technically weren’t bad-mouthing her boss whom she respected quite a lot, so she couldn’t help but laugh right along with Kid, right? “Although I’m happy he just wears jeans now. Maybe Robin got through to him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, wait,” Kid leaned forward, almost pushing Law back with how invested he was, “Robin? As in, Robin Nico? Tall, tanned, big blue eyes and ball-busting chick?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oi!” Law nudged him with his elbow, starting Kid who almost forgot he’s sat right in the middle, “Language.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh,” Lami nervously started, “She is quite… assertive but she’s really good at her job and is generally so nice to everyone.”</p><p> </p><p>“Beside the point,” Kid excitedly replied, “Robin was like, the top of their class? They had this rivalry thing going on for ages and he really wanted to beat her scores but never could, even if he worked ten times harder, day and night. That woman was just a badass engineer and never had a single hair of her head out of place. He then started following her around to annoy the living hell out of her or whatever and eventually had a really bad puppy crush on her. She kept rejecting him every single time, it was brutal.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow”, Lami laughed, “I didn’t know any of that. Guess everything worked out somehow because they’re married now.”</p><p> </p><p>He laughed out loud, a deep rich sound before he looked at Killer. He rolled his eyes at the redhead who leaned back in his chair, a wide grin on his face, “I knew it! Called it years ago!” He turned back to Lami, who seemed just as happy as he was, indulging in harmless gossip about her CEOs, “Just tell your boss ‘Captain Kid says hello’ when you see him, he’ll get it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Or you can visit sometime, I’m sure he’ll like that” She smiled back. He grinned at her and she turned to Bonney, “and if you ever need a hand with decorating, just let me know. Might be able to get you a good deal.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll keep that in mind” the pink haired woman winked and clinked her glass of wine to Lami’s, “I love your dress, by the way. Criminal?”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you!” She beamed back, “and yes! Bought it with my first cheque.”</p><p> </p><p>“It really suits you, Lami.” Nami chimed in as she took a bite from her orange cake, sighing in bliss, “green is a good color on you. And you, too.” she bumped her shoulder to Bonney’s.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” the latter grinned, “Noji made me buy it. She’s got a good eye for fashion.”</p><p> </p><p>“Runs in the family.” Nami laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Nojiko’s bar is around here, isn’t it?” Lami asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Just across the road.” Nami said, “We should all go there sometime.”</p><p> </p><p>“We should go <em>shopping</em>,” Lami corrected, “then go there sometime.”</p><p> </p><p>“Atta girl” Bonney held her glass to Lami, who toasted hers back, “I like your thinking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nojiko?” Law asked his sister quietly while the two women across from him started talking about fashion trends and shopping plans.</p><p> </p><p>“Nami’s sister,” She explained, “She owns a bar called Genzo’s nearby. We’ve met a couple of times when Nami and I were hanging out. You’d like her.”</p><p> </p><p>Law wasn’t actually aware that the two of them “hanged out” that much, since he himself has only very recently met Nami when Luffy introduced her to them on that family dinner way back. He felt a pang of guilt and made a mental note to at least try and call his sister more. He was happy nevertheless that she lead an active social life beside her full-time job, unlike himself. He had to keep reminding himself that while Lami would always be his baby sister, she’s not actually a <em>baby. </em>Not anymore. She’s grown beautifully into a happy, healthy young lady who had her own friends, her own job and her own life. Something he had thought was hopeless not so long ago—</p><p> </p><p>He felt a jab at his left side, before he heard Lami’s voice to his right, “Traffy?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” he blinked at Lami, who has looking at him with concern. Along with their half of the table who have noticed her repeated attempts to catch his attention, “Sorry, I spaced out a bit. Did you say something?”</p><p>She must have been saying something for a while he zoned out. <em>again</em>. Judging by the empty plates and the butler currently taking them away, he must have been lost in thought for quite some time. He gave himself a mental slap. <em>She’s here. She’s still here. She’ll stay here for a long time.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Um,” she still looked worried, her frown not easing, “Nami was suggesting going to Genzo’s after dinner. Are you sure you’re okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” he waved it off, the tips of his ears burning, “I’m fine.” He glanced at their host, who was laughing at something Zoro said to him, not sure how to best end the evening without insulting him after all his generosity.</p><p> </p><p>It was Bonney who picked up on his indecisiveness, “Hey, old man. Mind if we take this party over to Nojiko’s?” Law almost choked.</p><p> </p><p>Zeff looked at Law, “Did you enjoy your meal?”</p><p> </p><p>“Very,” Law replied, “The meal was exquisite and I genuinely enjoyed everyone’s company as well.” He nodded at Killer and Bonney, then back at Zeff, “This is very generous of all of you. I— we, can’t thank you enough for your kind invitation.” Beside him, Lami smiled and nodded in agreement.</p><p>“You don’t need to.” Zeff waved him off, “Because of you, I can still have dinner with all my family like this. So thank <em>you</em>, kid.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, Zeff.” Killer told him quietly, his eyes bright while Bonney smiled widely at the older man.</p><p> </p><p>Law nodded at him. After all, he knew exactly what he was talking about. He still wrote those thank you cards every year on—</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Nami clapped, dissipating the bittersweet silence that fell on them in a second, “Genzo’s?”</p><p> </p><p>“Actually I’m pretty full,” Law said, “I don’t think I’ll be drinking tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great! You can drive us all home then if you’re sober.” She told him sweetly, making him scowl and Lami giggle.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll check if Ace and Sabo are free!” Luffy said as his fingers flew across his phone, undoubtedly texting his brothers.</p><p> </p><p>“Our treat,” Killer said and Bonney continued, “Absolutely”.</p><p> </p><p>“Then it’s settled!” Nami grinned, “Genzo’s it is!”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re in, I’ll wrap it up here and catch up to you guys.” Sanji told them after a quick exchange of glances and nods with Zoro.</p><p> </p><p>Law glanced at Lami, who was happily chatting to Nami about what her favorite cocktails were for later, and sighed. He really would rather call it a night and cozy up at home with her and Bepo but seeing how happy and excited she was about this, he couldn’t help but go along with it just to make her smile longer.</p><p>They all stood up, Zeff and Sanji saw them to the door where they put on their coats and he shook everyone’s hands. Law thought he used a little bit more force than was strictly necessary, which he took as gratitude instead of vindictive and tried not to wince. <em>Old man my ass.</em></p><p>Killer and Bonney were last in line. Zeff had his hand held out to them but Killer went in for a hug instead, taking him by surprise. Law turned away when Bonney joined in and Zeff wrapped his arms around them both, giving them their privacy as everyone else politely did the same and walked a little further outside, chatting casually. Kid followed them outside at a more sedate pace.</p><p>“So you’re an engineer?” Lami asked the redhead as she slowed down to walk beside him.</p><p> </p><p>“Architectural, yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you a freelancer or…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, I got my own company.” He told her mildly, “Supernova Engineering?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow!” She exclaimed, clearly impressed, “Any projects I know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” He stopped as they reached the car park, waiting for the others, “We have helped with several government projects, but our original work is mostly modern. Like the Modern Art museum extension, the Athletic Centre near Z3 and the new music Arena near the highway.” He got his phone out of his crimson red coat and brought up some of his projects’ pictures to show her. Law could almost see stars in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m pretty sure they showed us some of these models in our Modern lectures at school.” She told him, as she zoomed in and out of pictures, politely careful not to swipe left or right. “Those were pretty innovative and the end result looks amazing. Did you build these models yourself? As in, manually?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup,” He grinned at her, “Don’t like working with paper- too flat, too rigid. Same with programs. Plus it’s more fun this way.”</p><p> </p><p>Law, who was standing next to his sister as she admired the redhead's work couldn’t help but discreetly glance at the other’s phone as he held it out to her. He wasn’t sure what he was looking at at first before it started to make sense as she enlarged the pictures.</p><p>Models. He was showing her 3D metallic models of the actual buildings he mentioned earlier. At first he thought those were computer-designed with how life-like and detailed they seemed. On a closer look, he noticed the little blemishes and tiny details that would not be created by a computer. Those little imperfections only added to the overall appeal of them. He knew the Arena Kid was talking about and it was like he was seeing a tiny version of it on the redhead’s phone down to its tiniest details and sharp edges. He had to admit he was impressed.</p><p> </p><p>“Shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>He glanced up from the redhead’s phone to see Killer and Bonney linking arms and walking towards them with Sanji smoking a cigarette at their side. Killer’s hair was looking slightly shaggier than Law remembered it being at dinner while his girlfriend’s eyes looked a bit red rimmed. None of them said anything about it as they all just continued walking toward the bar in one large group.</p><p> </p><p>“Sabo and Koala will pick Ace up, Marco’s got the night shift so he can’t come.” Luffy said as he went through the texts on his phone then turned to everyone else, “So who’s drinking and who’s driving?”</p><p> </p><p>Nami and Zoro’s hands shot up straight away “drinks.”</p><p> </p><p>Killer and Bonney both said they would drink but not too heavily, “Just a couple of margaritas,” She said.</p><p> </p><p>Sanji was the first to say he is staying sober to drive and because he had the late shift tomorrow.</p><p> </p><p>Lami looked at Law, “Three drinks.”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled at her, “I’m good.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll drink if you’re not.” Luffy shrugged, “Jaggy?”</p><p> </p><p>Kid looked bewildered and almost glanced behind him when the other man looked directly at him before he realized he was talking to <em>him</em>, “What, me?”Bonney burst out laughing as he flushed red to the roots of his hair, “The hell you just called me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ja-ggy.” Luffy said slowly, seemingly not bothered by the other’s murderous intent, “Are you drinking or are you sober tonight?”</p><p> </p><p>He scowled fiercely at the much smaller man who was innocently blinking back at him, before glancing to the side were Law was trying not to smirk, “Not drinking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Luffy nodded, “So, that leaves Traffy, Jaggy and Sanji as the only ones sober enough to get everyone home. I know Ace, Sabo and Koala will all drink and they have a car.”</p><p> </p><p>“We can take them home on our way.” Sanji said.</p><p> </p><p>“I can drive Nami’s car back.” Law said, and she happily plopped her keys into his hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Killer and Bonney.” Kid shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“Then it’s settled,” Luffy said happily, “Let’s go!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you liked my cheeky little SNK reference there ;). Also please never drink and drive!! Get a friend, or a cab.</p><p>Thank you for reading so far. As always please let me know what you think in the comments, your thoughts and replies are very welcome. I'm trying to make writing my primary stress-release and steer away from unhealthy coping mechanisms, but alas, writer's block is not the friendliest. </p><p>Stay safe, happy and healthy you guys.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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